Officials at Greenwich Hospital announced the donation of 37 Narcan kits to the town's police department at a Monday news conference.

They say because the hospital is so involved in community projects, they set aside money for donations.

Greenwich Police Chief Jim Heavey says more Narcan in the department's hands will hopefully lead to fewer overdose deaths in the future. He says they've responded to eight overdoses and one death within the past year.

"This is a considerable cost that we couldn't bear ourselves," Heavey says. "The hospital recognized that we didn't want to wait any longer for this to be worked into a budget."

Hospital staff members say they opted for a nasal spray because it's easier to administer. The shelf life for the spray is about a year and a half.

"In recognizing the issues with opioid overdose and addiction, we felt this was an appropriate use of community-oriented funds," says Norman Roth, of Greenwich Hospital.

The kits will be placed in 30 marked police cars and three police boats, as well as distributed to special units such as the narcotics department.