Kroger Amps Up Opioid Overdose Prevention Program

Multiple retailers have taken steps to combat opioid abuse over the past year or so by stocking overdose rescue drugs such as naloxone in their pharmacies. Kroger is taking it a step further with a multipronged plan to tackle the issue. 

Kroger said its pharmacies will partner with EverFi and Generation Rx to support drug prevention programs for high school students in certain markets, and will host drug takeback events at store locations across the country on April 28 in partnership with Cardinal Health. That event coincides with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

Kroger currently stocks naloxone, an opioid overdose-reversing drug, in its 2,300 pharmacies across 35 states and the District of Columbia; more than 1,900 of those locations dispense naloxone without a prescription.

"We know that pharmacists are the most accessible health professionals to the public and play a vital role in providing access to the life-saving drug naloxone," said Colleen Lindholz, Kroger's president of pharmacy and The Little Clinic, in a statement. "Every day in our stores and pharmacies, in large ways and small, Kroger is committed to being a part of the solution and helping people live healthier lives." 

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