Officer Uses Narcan to Save Drug Overdose Victim

Another officer with the Woodstock Police Department has utilized recent training to help save the life of a resident suffering from a drug overdose.

At 12:34 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, officer Matthew Carroll was dispatched to a call regarding an unconscious woman inside a home.

Once he arrived at the house, he found the woman with a ”dangerously low respiratory rate,” which caused her to turn blue, the Woodstock Police Department said in a press release.

Carroll quickly administered a dose of Narcan, an antidote used to temporarily reverse the effects of a drug overdose.

Within 30 seconds, the female regained consciousness, her respiratory rate began to climb and she was able to rise to a sitting position on her own, Woodstock police said. The patient was transported to an area hospital in stable condition where she received treatment.

“The Woodstock Police Department is extremely proud of the actions of Officer Matthew Carroll,” the agency said in the press release. “Through his quick actions, he was able to begin to stabilize the female who was in immediate need of medical attention.”

The police department in September 2014 deployed a training program on the antidote — also known as naloxone — for all officers, who are now equipped with the medication to use when necessary.

Naloxone is an easy-to-use, lifesaving antidote to overdoses from heroin or other opioids. Used in hospitals for decades, the medication has no abuse potential and can be administered with basic training

The medication is useful to temporarily reverse an overdose of heroin, codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, methadone, morphine and oxycodone.

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Photo credit: Woodstock Police Department