In the past 15 months, Dr. Jessie Gaeta has lost count of how many people have overdosed on opioids in the public bathrooms of her South End clinic for the homeless.But none of the victims died, Gaeta said. For that she credits a new piece of technology: an anti-motion detector linked to an alarm system that alerts staff if bathroom occupants are motionless.

“It’s practically an everyday occurrence,” said Gaeta, the chief medical officer of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, across the street from Boston Medical Center. “The solution has been a godsend, really.”

The sensors, designed by an Andover-based electrician and installed in four of the bathrooms, have alerted workers to two to five overdoses every week since the devices were installed in March 2017, Gaeta estimated.
The alarms are an example of the creative ways health care professionals are using technology to combat the opioid crisis, as overdose deaths continue to plague the region.

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