The Project Lazarus Model

 

The Project Lazarus Model is a public health model based on the twin premises that overdose deaths are preventable and that all communities are responsible for their own health. The Model can be conceptualized as a wheel, with three core components in the “Hub” and seven components that make up the “Spokes.”

 

This wheel is always in motion since coalitions and communities are always evolving. A coalition may start with a focus in one or two areas and then expand to other areas as the availability of resources changes, community sector engagement increases, or the nature of the problem shifts.

 

  The Hub:

 

• Public Awareness

  • Knowledge of the problem of overdose from prescription opioid analgesics.

 

• Coalition Action

  • Coordinate all sectors of the community response.

 

• Data and Evaluation

  • Ground a community's unique approach in their locally identified needs and improve interventions.

 

  The Spokes:

 

• Community Education

  • Improve the public's capacity to recognize and avoid the dangers of misuse/abuse of prescription opioids.

 

• Provider Education

  • Support screening and appropriate treatment for mental illness, addiction, and pain.

 

• Hospital ED Policies

  • ​Encourage safe prescribing of controlled substances and provide meaningful referrals for chronic pain and addiction.

 

• Diversion Control 

  • Reduce the presence of unused medicines in society.