Naloxone Training Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

New Fentanyl Education Discussed By Education Committee

Whether or not to teach middle schoolers about fentanyl and overdose-reversing medicine sparked discussion in the House Education Committee, while Senate Education modified a House bill on special education.

Titled Laken’s Law, House Bill 5540 would mandate fentanyl prevention and awareness education, as well as use of naloxone, in grades six through 12.

The bill sparked more than a half hour of discussion and debate in the House Education Committee Wednesday, with many delegates expressing concern about whether it was appropriate to teach sixth graders how to administer opioid-reversing medication.

State Superintendent Michele Blatt told the committee that drug prevention has been a focus of health education in schools for years and reflects the lived reality of many students in the state, even in middle school.

“I think middle school is where a lot of those problems begin,” she said. “One of the surveys that we do, the safe and drug free school survey, students start talking about as early as sixth and seventh grade being exposed to it or having the opportunity to use it. So I don’t think it’s too early to share the messaging of the dangers and the harms of it.”

Fentanyl has been a leading cause of overdose deaths in recent years. But data released last June by the Office of Drug Control Policy revealed a decline in opioid overdose rates, marking a positive turn in the fight against the ongoing drug epidemic. Health officials attribute the positive trend to a combination of factors, including expanded availability of naloxone. Blatt compared training for the use of naloxone products, such as Narcan, to first aid and CPR.

“Sadly, the world we live in now, it may be a matter of the student learns to use it, because they’re going to have to use it on mom or dad at home when they can’t wake up their parents or something,” she said.

The bill was amended to include heroin and other opioids in the new mandated education, and now goes to the House for its consideration.

House Education also discussed:

HB 5405, Providing additional professional development and support to West Virginia educators through teacher and leader induction and professional growth.
HB 5553, To provide and change graduation requirements and change duties relating to academic content standards.
HB 5607, Relating to public charter school’s application for funding
HB 5650, Allow suspended school personnel to enter school property functions open to the public.
SB 507, Relating to repeal of WV EDGE.

In the Senate

The Senate Education Committee focused on one Senate bill and two House bills Thursday morning.

House Bill 4860, which originally freed general education teachers from documenting special education accommodations, was hotly debated when it passed through the House Education Committee Jan. 22. Bill sponsor Del. Elliot Pritt, R-Fayette, a middle school teacher, called existing documentation requirements onerous, while critics of the bill raised concern that the bill would open the door for shirking of legal responsibilities to special education students.

Thursday morning, the Senate Education Committee changed the bill to re-introduce some documentation requirements for all teachers. Pritt was on hand to approve of the changes.

“In Fayette County, many other counties right now, we’re required to complete just an onerous amount of daily paperwork to prove that we’re already doing what we’re required to do by law in the first place,” he said. “I spoke with Chairwoman Grady and have agreed with the changes he’s proposed to the bill. It still equals a desired outcome of less onerous paperwork and but still meets, I guess, addresses the concerns that some people had about there being no daily documentation.”

The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

The Senate Education Committee also discussed:

SB 727 – Revising process for county boards of education to hire support staff
HB 4768 – Relating to increasing the number of out- of-state medical students receiving in-state tuition rates who agree to practice for a specific time within West Virginia.

Organizers Celebrate Success Of Save A Life Day

The number of Naloxone doses distributed on Save A Life Day more than doubled this year.

All 13 Appalachian states hosted more than 300 events on Save A Life Day and distributed more than 45,000 doses of naloxone.

Naloxone is a medication that works to reverse opioid overdoses. One common brand is Narcan, an easy-to-use nasal spray.

In 2020, the first Save A Life Day was organized by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) in partnership with SOAR WV, a Charleston-based community group with the stated goal of promoting the health, dignity, and voices of individuals who are impacted by drug use.

This year, the Bureau for Behavioral Health provided $600,000 worth of naloxone in West Virginia and distributed 29,438 doses to community organizations and individuals across the state.

“The expansion of Appalachian Save a Life Day across multiple states underscores our relentless pursuit of saving lives and providing hope to those affected by the opioid crisis,” said Rachel Thaxton, Interim Director for DHHR’s ODCP. “Together with our partners, we have not only made naloxone more accessible but have also opened the door to a brighter future for individuals and families in need.”

Three years since the effort began in just two counties, more than 180 counties across 13 states participated and distributed more than 45,000 naloxone doses throughout Appalachia.

According to Iris Sidikman, the Appalachian Save a Life Day Coordinator with SOAR, about 20,000 doses were distributed last year.

“One of the most moving things about Save A Life Day, to me is watching people take this idea, this idea that we had and this work that we’ve done, and bring it to their community, all the way up and down the country,” Sidikman said. “That, I think, has been the most meaningful part to me.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

FDA Approves Nasal Naloxone For Over The Counter Use

Until recently, Narcan was only available with a prescription, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a specific naloxone product for use without a prescription: a four-milligram naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray.

Naloxone rapidly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose and is considered the standard treatment.

Lindsay Acree is the Pharmacist-In-Charge at the University of Charleston’s Patient Care Clinic, PharmUC, and an assistant professor in the pharmacy department.

“The motivation is that we’re seeing more and more overdoses,” Acree said. “You know, just because you don’t use a substance doesn’t mean that you don’t have a friend or a family member that doesn’t, so I think that it gives people the opportunity to have it with them, for individuals that they may encounter that have overdosed.”

Narcan nasal spray was first approved by the FDA in 2015 as a prescription drug. As part of the process to change the status of a drug from prescription to nonprescription, the manufacturer provided data demonstrating that the drug is safe and effective for use without the supervision of a healthcare professional.

Still, some worry about the lack of training in using naloxone, but according to Acree, a helpful label will show how to use it.

“Anytime something goes over the counter, it has to be labeled in a way that anyone can understand it, basically,” Acree said. “I mean, it has to be regardless of their level of education, they have to be able to understand how to use it safely and effectively.”

Some advocates, like Amy Saunders, the managing director of Marshall University’s Center of Excellence for Recovery, worry about the unannounced cost of over-the-counter Naloxone nasal spray.

“I think it’s going to maybe make it more accessible to a lot of lot more different types of folks, and in a lot of different types of places and venues,” Saunders said. “But I think the price is going to be really important for us to kind of understand that piece.”

After the FDA’s announcement, Sen. Joe Manchin D-WV released a statement applauding the drug’s approval.

“In the last year, more than 106,000 Americans and 1,400 West Virginians died from drug related overdoses,” Manchin said. “Given the enormous scale of need, it has never been more important to adopt opioid overdose prevention and reversal strategies on a wide scale. Naloxone is an immeasurably valuable resource for our fight against the drug epidemic, and it is proven to be safe and effective for public use. I’m thrilled to see the FDA take this meaningful action to make naloxone available over the counter, which helps reduce stigma and encourages the widespread use of this critical medication during emergencies.

Naloxone, Overdose Prevention Clinics Scheduled At Shepherd University

Naloxone clinics are coming to the Eastern Panhandle to help educate locals on what to do in case of an opioid overdose.

A clinic is scheduled for Wednesday at Shepherd University’s student center. It’s set to teach those attending about what to do during an emergency, including identifying an overdose and how to administer naloxone.

“The biggest fact that we carry out through these trainings – our trainers will say this as well – Narcan and naloxone is safe for anyone, this isn’t something that will impact you if you’re not having an opioid overdose,” organizer and dean of students Jacob Mellow said. “But it can be life saving when in the opioid overdose situation. So that is the number one fact that we want to get out there is that it is safe for everyone, and it is safe to be carried and administered.”

Organizer and criminal justice professor Joshua Stout says these sort of clinics are important for the region. Berkeley County is one of the most vulnerable counties for overdose deaths in a state that has already seen the most deaths per capita from the opioid epidemic by a considerable amount, according to DHHR data.

“When we see these high numbers in our community, affecting our community, it’s near impossible today to find somebody who has not been impacted by the opioid epidemic in some way,” Stout said.

Also touched on during the training are ways to contact emergency services and familiarization with the state’s Good Samaritan law, which dictates that there will be no penalization for contacting said services during an overdose situation.

“That just makes it easier for a person to know that they’re going to provide a life saving service, and just to kind of prevent the stigma around calling or not calling for services,” Mellow said.

The clinic is scheduled for 11 a.m. in the student center’s Rumsey Gallery. Another clinic is coming to the school’s Martinsburg Center on Feb. 14. Both clinics are free and open to the public.

Overdose-Reversing Drug Can Save Lives, Especially During Stressful Holidays

The holidays can be a difficult time for many people, including those in recovery from substance misuse.Monongalia County Health Department Threat Preparedness specialist Joe Klass sat down with reporter Chris Schulz to remind listeners of the accessibility and usefulness of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone.

The holidays can be a difficult time for many people, including those in recovery from substance misuse.

Monongalia County Health Department Threat Preparedness specialist Joe Klass sat down with reporter Chris Schulz to remind listeners of the accessibility and usefulness of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Schulz: Joe, can you start off here by just explaining to us what naloxone is?

Klass: Naloxone will actually kick opioid molecules off receptors in the brain and get people breathing again after they’ve suffered from an opioid overdose. When someone takes too much of an opioid – opioids are central nervous system depressants – it’ll basically make someone get very tired, eventually pass out, the breathing will slow, and eventually it may stop. When naloxone is administered, it reverses that effect by binding to those receptors in the brain and kicking the opioid molecules off those receptors.

Naloxone has actually been around for a long time as a medication. But only recently have we really seen its use skyrocket as far as overdose reversal. Naloxone works very well, and it works very fast, which is really one of the great benefits of it, and it’s very safe. One of the big things when we do naloxone training is reinforcing the fact that naloxone, if it’s given to someone who’s not suffering from an opioid overdose, it’s really not going to cause any detrimental effects to the person, at least not in the dosages that these people are going to be giving out on the street.

Schulz: Why do you think it’s important or useful for the general public to not only be aware of these medications, but also be ready to use them?

Klass: Currently, naloxone is now in your tool belt with CPR, Stop the Bleed (a national program that encourages bystanders to become trained, equipped, and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives) and other public trainings. Not just because of the opioid epidemic, but also because you never know when you may need naloxone. Whether it be a child gets into a medicine cabinet, it could be an older individual who’s taking their prescribed pain medication, they may take too many. You really never know when you may need naloxone.

And the reason I think it’s really important to get that training for as many people as possible is not just because one, you never know when you’re going to encounter it, but two is naloxone works very well, and it’s as very safe. So it’ll most likely work and get that person breathing again. And you’ll give them another chance not only to live but, to get into recovery or get into other services they need.

Schulz: So, Joe, it is a holiday week here at the end of December as we speak. We often hear about the emotional impact of this time of year. Are you aware at all of any correlation between this time of year and overdoses?

Klass: I think there definitely is a correlation between holidays and increase in the potential isolation of individuals who don’t have family members or friends that they can kind of celebrate with. And obviously, that increased stress potentially is going to cause people to misuse substances or try to take solace in something else. And in some cases, that is going to be a substance that may hurt them.

Schulz: To the average person who may be interested in going through a naloxone training, what form would this medication come in?

Klass: There are multiple formulations of naloxone, both as far as the dosages and then also, as far as how they’re administered. It’s very common to have naloxone administered via the nose or intranasally, primarily because it’s pretty easy to administer it that way, and it works very well. It absorbs very quickly in the systemic circulation.

However, we also do have intramuscular, IM naloxone, which is given into a muscle basically like someone would get a vaccine or shot. There are a couple of different ways that can kind of be administered. Sometimes you can just draw it up from a vial and administer it that way. There are also different products that actually almost work like EpiPens, where it already has a dose drawn up for you and all you have to do is basically take the safety off and administer it.

I think really the most important thing is whether it be intranasal or intramuscular, it’s what do you have access to and what are you trained on using and what do you feel comfortable using?

Schulz: Part of the reason that I wanted to speak with you is that West Virginia Public Broadcasting recently received some information about one of these formulations that came kind of pre-packaged. And one of the things that was reported in that release was that with the increase in fentanyl related overdoses, there has been a need to sometimes double or triple the dosage of naloxone used when responding to an overdose.

Klass: From a general pharmacological standpoint, it absolutely is true that the more opioids you have in your system, and the higher the potency of the opioids, the more naloxone you’re going to need to reverse the effects. However, there are a lot of different factors that come into play as far as how many doses of naloxone will someone actually need to have the effects reversed because it has to be administered correctly. Depending on how much of an opioid the person took will dictate how fast it’s going to work.

If you do look at the data, it is true that we are seeing fentanyl in more and more things, and fentanyl is very potent. And there are, of course, numerous cases where people are having to administer more than one dose of naloxone whether it be intranasally or intramuscularly.

If you’re interested in naloxone training, contact your local health department for more information.

‘Be The One’ Box Equips West Virginia’s Campuses To Respond To Opioid Emergencies

A new overdose prevention initiative encourages students, staff and faculty to “Be The One,” to save a life.

The initiative was launched in early 2022 by West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute, the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network and Marshall University. The initiative distributes and installs ONEbox™ at the state’s public and private four-year colleges and universities, and on the state’s community and technical college campuses, totaling twenty-nine schools.

Susan Mullens is the Program Coordinator for the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network. She said associating the ONEbox with other life-saving measures like CPR and the Heimlich maneuver helps reduce stigma around opioid overdoses.

“The box makes it very easy, similar to the way an AED works, the audio comes on and walks you through step by step and with the ONEbox, it not only has audio, it has video so you have that visual demonstration,” Mullens said. “With the ONEbox, it has a video screen embedded so when you open the box, it automatically starts a video of Jan Rader walking you through, step by step, what to do to be able to use the naloxone that is in the box to reverse an opioid overdose.”

As of Dec. 7, all West Virginia colleges and universities, either already have the ONEbox on campus, or are committed to the installation of the boxes prior to 2023.

These resources, along with naloxone, have been provided at no cost to the schools through grant funds.

By placing ONEbox devices on West Virginia’s campuses, the “Be The One” initiative is not only able to reach those most vulnerable to overdose, between ages 18 to 45, but also help reduce stigma around opioid overdoses.

“Our campuses are also anchor points and examples for broader communities and so we feel like if the campuses are supporting it, which they are, we have all 29 institutions that are affiliated with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and community technical college system on board with this, that really helps reduce stigma in the broader community,” Mullens said.