Narcan training in Amsterdam offers lifesaving courses – the daily gazette

Sonnet Gravina, from Amsterdam, said she had a friend whose 20-year-old son was saved twice by Narcan.

“He’s alive and recovering,” Gravina said. “It’s been a year and a half now. He is fine. He is clean.

Gravina said the personal connection to an opioid overdose is part of why she wanted to attend an naloxone training event held on Wednesday evening in Amsterdam and hosted by Deputy Angelo Santabarbara. The training, at the Century Club in Amsterdam, was held in conjunction with Senator Michelle Hinchey, Montgomery County Sheriff Jeffrey T. Smith, Amsterdam Police Department and Montgomery County Department of Health .

Nineteen community members were trained on how to recognize, respond to and reverse an opioid overdose using naloxone, an opioid antagonist drug given by nasal spray. Participants also received overdose kits that included a box containing two doses of Narcan, rubber gloves, information brochures and a fentanyl test strip to detect if the harmful substance was present.

A big point to remember was how easy Narcan is to administer. The whole workout only lasted about 30 minutes.

Santabarbara said his previous training experience made him feel empowered.

“Until I was trained on my own I thought I couldn’t do this, I’m not a medical professional, I can’t reverse an overdose,” Santabarbara said. “This is not true. We just showed you today that we can.

Administering Narcan is a relatively straightforward process. It starts with identifying an opioid overdose by looking for signs such as a person is unresponsive to touch, breathing slowly, or has “sharp pupils,” which implies that the central part of their eye is very. small. Then, after opening a box of Narcan and tilting the person’s head back, insert the tip into one of the nostrils and firmly press the red plunger to deliver the medicine. Then call for help and roll the person onto their side with their hands supporting the head and knees bent to prevent them from rolling onto their stomach.

Narcan is accessible to the public, with 97% of insurance plans allowing access, according to the manufacturer.

“Anyone can buy Narcan nasal spray directly from a pharmacist without a doctor’s prescription. All major drugstore chains (such as CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid) stock Narcan nasal spray, so it’s convenient for you to get it, ”the company’s website read.

The people who administer Narcan are protected under New York State Good Samaritan Law. Still, Santabarbara acknowledged that people may be uncomfortable thinking about an opioid overdose and therefore reluctant to attend a Narcan training session. But the assembly member said the crisis would not go away anytime soon. Figures from the New York State Department of Health show demand for Narcan is increasing in Montgomery and Fulton counties.

In 2019, 636 two-dose cartons of Narcan were shipped to Opioid overdose prevention programs in Fulton and Montgomery counties combined (276 in Fulton and 360 in Montgomery), according to state data. In 2020, the total for two counties was 912 double-dose cartons (504 in Fulton and 408 in Montgomery). From 2021 to Nov. 5, 984 Narcan double-dose cartons were shipped to programs in both counties (456 in Fulton and 528 in Montgomery), according to state figures.

“It’s not a pleasant subject, but it is a reality. It affects families, it affects friends, it affects neighborhoods almost daily, ”Santabarbara said.

Opioid overdoses affect people like Gravina’s friend’s son. This son’s addiction started with pain relievers and then eventually shifted to heroin, Gravina said. She explained that the friend’s son was a happy child, but after taking pain relievers he needed more and more chemicals just to feel “normal”.

“To get to that level, it was more and more, and you start looking at the cost of that, and then he turned to heroine. This is how it happened, “she said.

Gravina said she hopes the stigma surrounding drug addiction continues to diminish.

“There was a stigma at one point that people thought, oh, they’re just addicts, they can just quit. But it happens to a lot of people who you wouldn’t expect it to happen, ”Gravina said. “It’s common. It’s very common.

Because opioid addiction is prevalent, the need for a widespread response is paramount. Santabarbara said opioid legislation and regulation funds are, of course, part of the solution. But the same is true of having partners on the ground. These partnerships include the sheriff’s offices and county officials, he said, but they must also include members of the public, hence training sessions like the one on Wednesday.

“We need people not to be helpless. You have to recognize it and know how to respond to it, ”Santabarbara said. “You can actually reverse an overdose and save someone’s life. “

Edward Rush, who lives in Amsterdam, said he attended the training for the same reason.

“I have known people who have lost friends and family,” he said. “It’s something small that I can do to try and help if needed. I hope I never have to.

Andrew Waite can be reached at [email protected] and at 518-417-9338. Follow him on Twitter @UpstateWaite.

Categories: Fulton Montgomery Schoharie, New