Drop-in Training Available Every First Wednesday of the Month, 4 – 6 p.m.
Townhall II Integrated Health Network will begin hosting monthly Narcan training on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 4-6 p.m. The training only takes about 15 minutes and is being offered at 155 N. Water Street in Kent on a drop-in basis. Interested parties should come into the lobby and tell the receptionist they are here for Narcan training.
From the Ohio Department of Health, “Naloxone (commonly known as Narcan®) is a medication that can reverse an overdose caused by an opioid drug (heroin, illicit fentanyl, or prescription pain medications). When administered during an overdose, naloxone blocks the effects of opioids on the brain and quickly restores breathing. Naloxone has been used safely by emergency medical professionals for more than 40 years and has only one critical function: to prevent overdose death by reversing the effects of opioids. Naloxone is a safe, non-controlled drug and has no potential for abuse.
“If naloxone is given to a person who is not experiencing an opioid overdose, it is harmless. If naloxone is administered to a person who is dependent on opioids, it will produce withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal, although uncomfortable, is not life-threatening.
Naloxone can be administered by trained laypersons, which can be helpful if a friend, family member, or other bystander witnesses a person overdosing.”
In 2021, 80,000 of 107,000 drug overdose deaths involved opioids, according to a study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. When we take into account that bystanders are present in more than one in three overdoses involving opioids, according to the Aug. 31, 2018 edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the knowledge of how to properly administer Narcan becomes of utmost importance.
“Every time we are out in the community, someone asks us about Narcan,” says Tamera Hunter, CEO of Townhall II. “We have had bus drivers, friends of people who use, mothers and fathers, everybody-including churches and schools, ask us about Narcan. We have found that there is a stigma in some places about offering Narcan training. To that end, we just decided to offer it at our office on a monthly basis so interested individuals can obtain the knowledge they need. It is our intent to make Narcan as common as first aid kits, fire extinguishers and defibrillators.”
Townhall II also provides Narcan in a Free Harm Reduction Vending machine in the lobby of their central offices at 155 N. Water St., Kent, OH 44240. A link to online Narcan training is provided with the kits. The Harm Reduction Vending Machine is in a discreet location in the lobby and also contains Fentanyl test strips, drug deactivation kits, condoms, pregnancy tests, first aid kits and hygiene items.
