Woodstock Officer Uses Narcan To Save Overdose Victim

Another officer in Cherokee County has saved the life of a patient by using an anti-overdose medication just days after receiving training on how to properly administer the drug.

At around 2:50 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, officer Shane Bonebrake responded to a call of a woman found unconscious inside a home in the city.

Once he arrived onto the scene, Bonebrake discovered the unresponsive woman who had a “dangerously low respiratory rate,” the Woodstock Police Department said in a press release.

Bonebrake made the decision to administer a dose of Narcan, a brand-name form of naloxone, an opioid receptor blocker used to reduce drug overdoses through nasal administration.

Within 30 seconds of receiving the antidote, the woman regained consciousness and her breathing pattern began to return to normal. She was later transported to an area hospital in stable condition.

The agency on Sept. 8 rolled out training on how to administer the antidote, an initiative Woodstock police attributes to Bonebrake’s ability to save the woman’s life.

All officers completed the training just four days before Bonebrake had to administer the antidote.

All Woodstock police officers have been trained and are equipped with the medication “to expand the care provided to our citizens and visitors,” the agency added.

Last month, an officer with the Holly Springs Police Department found himself in a similar situation and had to administer the drug to an overdose victim.

Used in hospitals for decades, nalaxone has no abuse potential and can be administered with basic training.

In 2013, Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services responded to 123 overdoses where 50 doses of Narcan were administered. In 2014, they have already responded to 100 overdoses where 43 doses of Narcan have been administered.

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

(Photo: Officer Shane Bonebrake. Credit: Woodstock Police Department)