How to use Narcan to treat an overdose in an emergency
Here’s a step-by-step guide to using using naloxone, a nasal spray commonly known by the brand name Narcan, to treat an overdose in an emergency.
Sady Swanson, Wochit
Naloxone, the life-saving opioid overdose reversal drug, will soon be available at all county health departments in the state.
The Florida Department of Health announced last week that it would expand the Florida Department of Children and Families’ Overdose Prevention Program to all 67 counties.
The expansion of naloxone distribution is part of the state’s response to the overdose crisis, which in 2021 killed almost 8,000 Floridians, the highest one-year total recorded in the state.
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PBSO deputies will soon carry Narcan
Last month in Palm Beach County, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told county commissioners that his deputies will soon carry Narcan, the brand name of naloxone. Bradshaw said that county commissioners will need to provide a supplemental appropriation of $200,000, as the funds are not included in this year’s or next year’s budget.
The naloxone distribution is one of the first moves under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Coordinated Opioid Recovery (CORE) Program, an effort between the Department of Health, Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Health Care Administration to curb the number of deaths caused by the polluted drug supply.
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Naloxone is already available in Florida CVS and Walgreens pharmacies without a prescription and is covered by Florida Medicaid. Other insurances, however, might require a co-pay.
According to the announcement, the expansion “complements” the Helping Emergency Responders Obtain Support (HEROS) program, which provides free naloxone to emergency response agencies.
It is unknown whether the naloxone available at county departments of health will also be free. DOH has yet to respond to questions about how much the naloxone distributed to all counties would cost. Sixteen counties were given 1,500 doses of naloxone in the initial phase of distribution.
The state has been ramping up efforts to curb overdoses as the number of deaths continues to climb.
More than 6,000 people in Florida died because of opioids in 2020, a 42% increase over 2019, according to recent data available from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission.
Fentanyl, an opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, was the leading cause of drug deaths in Florida in 2020. Just over 5,300 people died due to fentanyl that year, a 59% increase over 2019; 572 of those deaths were in Palm Beach County, the second most behind Broward.
Palm Beach County recorded 382 fentanyl analog-related deaths and 138 heroin-related deaths, meaning the drug was either the cause of death or present, the most of any county in the state.
Last week, Attorney General Ashley Moody’s One Pill Can Kill campaign warned college students of fentanyl in bright, rainbow colors and another drug called eutylone, a psychoactive bath salt that mimics the effects of Ecstasy, methaphetamine and cocaine.
And in Tallahassee last week, a local harm-reduction group alerted people who use drugs that MDMA in the area tested positive for fentanyl.
DeSantis announced the CORE program in early August and blamed the Biden Administration and lack of security at the border for the increased deaths caused by fentanyl.
“Substance abuse can affect any family at any time, so from education to law enforcement to treatment, we are going to make sure that Floridians can take advantage of this new addiction recovery model,” DeSantis said.
