FARGO — The ONE Program, an opioid harm prevention program through North Dakota State University’s School of Pharmacy, recently received a $500,000 grant through the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services distribution of federal funds. according to an NDSU news release. The grant will support opioid harm reduction efforts across North Dakota and can be renewed annually for three years.

Titled “Opioid and Naloxone Education: A Statewide Approach to Opioid Harm Prevention,” the grant will be used over the next year to:

— Screen patients for risk of opioid risks and provide education and interventions in 75 community pharmacies across North Dakota.

— Increase naloxone access in public settings and on campuses across the state.

— Educate university and college students in North Dakota about opioid safety.

— Enhance medication safety and opioid harm reduction efforts to patients through home health nursing, community paramedics, and for people who are incarcerated.

— Establish safe and convenient dispensing of medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

Over the past six years, the ONE Program has been funded through the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services. Pilot funding was provided by various state and local agencies and foundations.

The ONE Program began in 2018 in North Dakota. It helps pharmacists use proactive tools to make an impact on drug overdose deaths. The ONE Program has expanded to pharmacies in West Virginia, Idaho and a pilot in Minnesota. The ONE Program also includes the provision of opioid risk reduction efforts to home health programs, correctional facilities, North Dakota colleges and universities, collaborations with local public health units and evidence-based data collection and dissemination.