Fighting The Toll Of A 'Plague' With Narcan Training In North Salem

NORTH SALEM, NY — First responders and members of the public are now in a little better position to deal with a mounting public health crisis.

NYS Sen. Pete Harckham, along with Westchester County Legislator Erika Pierce and the North Salem Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NSVAC), hosted a naloxone training last week. The event was organized to give more of those on the front lines, including members of the public, an opportunity to learn how to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

"In order for someone to enter recovery, first and foremost, they must be alive," Harckham said of the potentially life-saving training. "A person equipped with naloxone and the training to use it properly can literally give someone a new lease on life and the opportunity to enter recovery."

The training was held at NSVAC headquarters on Daniel Road at the request of Kurt Guldan, emergency coordinator for the ambulance corps, according to organizers.

"The opioid overdose epidemic is a disaster of epic proportions, and we must fight back against it with everything we have," Gulden said. "An ordinary individual, with some training and naloxone, can do something extraordinary–save a life. This naloxone training increases the number of people who know how to administer an opioid antagonist and reverse an overdose. I appreciate Senator Harckham and Legislator Pierce for making this training available in our community."

Mandee Nan, an opioid overdose outreach training specialist with the state's Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) in Albany, led the two-and-a-half hour training session, which focused on both the administration of naloxone, a powerful opioid antagonist, and instruction in rescue breathing.

According to CDC reports, more than 100,000 people died from a drug overdose in 2021, mostly from opioids. The surge in deaths is in part attributed to the rise in use and prevalence of illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Fentanyl and other adulterants are now increasingly common, making an overdose all too easy.

The participants learned how to administer naloxone as a pre-packaged, FDA-approved nasal spray. More first responders are being trained to use naloxone as the overdose crisis touches nearly every community in the country.

Those who have family members with an opioid use disorder are especially encouraged to have the opioid antagonist nearby. People should still always call 911 in the event of an overdose, even if it appears the emergency has passed.

Since 2019, Harckham has hosted eight naloxone training sessions. Participants at last week's North Salem training received an emergency kit with two doses of naloxone.

"Almost everyone has known someone who has died from an overdose, but we are not helpless in the face of this plague affecting our communities," Pierce said. "I encourage everyone who can to learn how to administer naloxone and keep some handy. You never know whose life you could save."