Nurses At Princeton Public Schools May Soon Be Equipped With Heroin Antidote

PRINCETON, NJ — Nurses in the Princeton Public School District may soon be equipped with an antidote to be used in the case of a heroin overdose. The policy falls in line with others passed in school district throughout the state recently, as the heroin epidemic continues to grip New Jersey.

The Princeton Board of Education approved a proposed policy on introduction Tuesday night that would allow the nurses to carry and use the antidote if needed, the Princeton Packet reports.

School nurses will be responsible for safely storing the antidote. Students who receive the antidote will be taken to a nearby hospital, and their family or contact person will be notified, according to the report. A note will be made on the health record of any student who receives the antidote.

Similar proposals have already been passed in Ocean City in Cape May County, Gloucester Township in Camden County, multiple districts in Ocean County and nearby Robbinsville.

Police departments across the state began using Naloxone/Narcan, a heroin antidote previously only available to hospital staff, after legislators passed the Opioid Antidote and Overdose Prevention Act in 2013. The antidote reverses the effect of a heroin overdose.

Police departments in Mercer County began using the antidote in 2014. That year, 600 kits were distributed to police departments in the county, including Princeton.

Patch file photo