Opiod Crisis Countered With Nalaxone In Camden County Schools

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — Naloxone will be available soon in every Camden County school to combat the ongoing public health opioid crisis, officials announced.

County officials are launching a program in direct response to the nationwide epidemic, which took more than 100,000 lives last year across the country. More than 300 of these deaths were Camden County residents, officials said.

And, a 12-year-old Blackwood boy was the victim of a fatal fentanyl overdose earlier this year, as county commissioners noted. That boy's uncle faces multiple charges after officials say he was manufacturing fentanyl in his home.

Each public and parochial school in the county (about 266 in total) will get four kits and a "Naloxbox," which is a secure metal box holding four doses of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, according to a news release.

Naloxone is also sold under the brand names Narcan, and is available as a nasal spray and an injection.

Schools will be responsible for monitoring usage and expiration, and may contact the Chief of Police if they need more naloxone at their building, officials said.

Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said officials have been working to address the epidemic "for the better part of a decade" by providing tools and resources to the community.

“This is now the next step in that journey to combat the evolving fentanyl issue that is appearing in a variety of recreational narcotics,” said Cappelli in a news release. “We are distributing this necessary medication to ensure that every institution in the county can respond to an overdose on school property as well as to educate students and staff about opioids, especially in the age of fentanyl.”

Commissioners will join state and local officials at Highland Regional High School in Blackwood on Thursday to unveil the program.

Dr. Brian Repici, superintendent of the Black Horse Pike Regional School District, said administrators and the board wanted to make sure they are prepared to save a student's life if the need arises.

He added that educational institutions must educate students about substance abuse "and also be prepared to handle all aspects of addiction and potential intentional or unintentional exposure to opioid, including a plan that may potentially save the life of an opioid overdosing child or community member."

"We are hopeful that we never have to use it, but our school nurses are trained to use the medication if the situation arises and our District policy permits and supports that implementation," Repici said in a statement shared with Patch.

The Office of Mental Health and Addiction is allocating more than $20,000 for the new initiative, commissioners said.

The state Department of Health, Camden County Prosecutor's Office, and local police departments will distribute the naloxone at no cost to taxpayers, a news release said.

There will also be scheduled overdose response trainings throughout the month of November, commissioners said.

“Through collaboration, education and the implementation of the correct resources, we can protect our children from the horrors of the opioid epidemic,” commissioner Cappelli said. “That said, this public health crisis still tears at the foundation of our families, friends and neighbors. And no one is immune to the effects of opioid use disorder regardless of where they live.”