Free Narcan Training Offered By Suffolk County

RIVERHEAD, NY - With an eye toward addressing the escalating heroin crisis on Long Island and across the country, Suffolk County has scheduled a series of free Narcan training classes.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Dr. James Tomarken, Commissioner of Health, are encouraging residents to take advantage of a new Opioid Overdose Prevention Program, with Narcan training classes.

The training, which meets New York State Department of Health requirements, will enable participants to recognize an opioid overdose, administer intranasal Narcan and take additional steps until emergency services arrive. Participants will receive a certificate of completion and an emergency resuscitation kit that includes nasal Narcan.

The classes will take place according to the following schedule:

Riverhead

Tuesday, March 15, 2016, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Cornell Cooperative Extension, 1st Floor
423 Griffing Ave. Riverhead, NY 11901
RSVP to John Stype at John.Stype@suffolkcountyny.gov
Phone: 631-852-3200

Bohemia
Thursday, March 03, 2016, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Connetquot Public Library
760 Ocean Ave. Bohemia, NY 11716
RSVP To 631-665-2311

Setauket
Thursday, March 31, 2016, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Setauket Fire Station
Nicolls Rd. Setauket, NY 11733
RSVP to 631-854-1650 or email seth.squicciarino@suffolkcountyny.gov

Middle Island
Friday, May 13, 2016, 6:30 p.m. -7:30 p.m.
Longwood Public Library
800 Middle County Road, Middle Island NY 11953
RSVP to Krystina Sconzo at 631-207-0073 or sconzok@nysa.us

Narcan, or naloxone, can reverse an overdose; it was once injected by needle but is now administered in a victim’s nose.

While in the past, only paramedics could administer the Naran, today, every EMT, police department and ambulance is equipped; Narcan is now also sold over the counter.

In 2015, Narcan was administered 536 times in Suffolk County, according to Robert Delagi, Suffolk County Department of Health EMS Coordinator, who gave a free Narcan training in Mattituck recently.

A person overdoses when opioids bind to receptor sites on the brain that stimulate the neurotransmitters that control breathing. With opioids on the receptor sites, the neurotransmitters don’t work, so a person cannot breathe, and the respiratory rate slows. As respiration starts to decrease, oxygen levels decrease and carbon dioxide levels spike, leading to a loss of consciousness and death. When Narcan is injected, it gets quickly into circulation, ”prying” the opioids off the receptor sites and allowing the person to breathe.

Narcan only works on opioids, he said, but has no harmful effects if used on a person who has been using other drugs.

Signs of overdose include slowed or shallow breathing, a heavy head nod, not responsive to stimulation, bilateral constricted pupils, and bluish nail beds or lips.