Kathy Deady

In this Tuesday Feb. 27, 2012 photo, Kathy Deady holds up a tube of Naloxone Hydrochloride, also known as Narcan, in her Quincy, Mass., home. Narcan is a nasal spray used as an antidote for opiate drug overdoses. Deady twice had to use the drug on her son, who was suffering from an overdose of heroin. The drug counteracts the effects of heroin, OxyContin and other powerful painkillers and has been routinely used by ambulance crews and emergency rooms in the U.S. and other countries for decades. But in the past few years, public health officials across the nation have been distributing it free to addicts and their loved ones, as well as to some police and firefighters. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

(Charles Krupa)

BOSTON -- More than 30 Massachusetts communities will receive a combined $700,000 in grants to buy and administer Narcan, a drug that reverses heroin and opioid pill overdoses, Gov. Charlie Baker's office announced Tuesday.

In Western Massachusetts, Chicopee will get $11,300, while Westfield will be granted around $7,500. Worcester will receive $46,000 -- the highest amount after Lowell, which will be given $50,000, according to Baker's office.

The funds will help get Narcan, otherwise known as naloxone, into the hands of fire and police departments that may not already have it.

"The use of naloxone is one of our state's greatest success stories in the fight against the opioid epidemic," said Department of Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel. "This funding will allow more first responders in our hardest hit communities to have access to this safe, life-saving drug."

In 2014 -- the most recent year the DPH has released official data for -- 600 deaths were confirmed as opioid-related with an additional 408 expected to be linked to the the drugs. But those on the front lines battling the epidemic say many more would have died if it had not been for the increased access to Narcan.

The state also granted 23 communities a total of $600,000 for Narcan in Nov. 2014.

In a release announcing the new grants, Baker's administration touted the state's bulk purchasing fund that allows first responders to take advantage of the government rate for Narcan, as well as legislation proposed in the fall that would essentially allow medical personnel to intervene if they believe patients who use opioids could be a harm to themselves.

The Baker administration budgeted $114 million this year for substance abuse prevention, as well as efforts to control the spread of addictive prescription painkillers.

To qualify for the grants, communities had to have an annual rate of six opioid-related deaths per every 100,000 residents, and an average annual count of four opioid overdose deaths annually between 2009 and 2013.

The award amounts were calculated by taking the total amount, $700,000, and dividing it among the applicants based upon their populations, the state said.

"This grant will help save more lives as our administration continues to pursue new and wide-ranging tools to combat the opioid epidemic, including the ability for medical personnel to intervene with those who have overdosed," Baker said.. "We look forward to continuing to work with the legislature to pass meaningful reforms, and are pleased to support our first responders' access to immediate, life-saving resources."

Narcan is also available for free at Tapestry Health locations across Western Massachusetts, including Northampton and Holyoke.