Billboards unveiled in 3 locations across the county
Law enforcement officers who carry the overdose-reversal drug Narcan and who are trained in its use have the opportunity to save lives, alongside more than 450 individuals in the community who have attended trainings offered by a local agency and its partners in fight against the opioid epidemic.
That agency — the Logan County Health District — secured a $30,000 three-month Ohio Department of Health naloxone grant in the summer of 2019, and then beginning in the fall, a year-long ODH grant for an additional $60,500, as previously detailed in the Examiner.
As a result of the state grant and with additional grant support from the Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Services Board of Logan and Champaign Counties during the past year, health district staff members have conducted 65 trainings in the community to concerned citizens, family members, business representatives and others and has distributed a total of 586 doses of Narcan.
The educational presentation covers the signs of an opioid overdose; how to administer Narcan; where to obtain Narcan; information on area treatment facilities, and support groups for families and addicts. For those ages 18 and older who attend the presentation and present a photo identification, the grant provides for the trained individuals to receive the naloxone for free.
In the last week, billboards highlighting this local Narcan training resource have sprung up in three locations in Logan County — at Iron City Sports Bar, 1125 S. Main St., Bellefontaine; along with billboards on both sides of State Route 47 near County Road 32; and by Fisher’s Flea Market and Old Field Beach in Lakeview. The action was approved by the Logan County District Board of Health at their recent meeting, with advertising fees to be paid with the grant funds.
Several different images are featured on the billboards, including one with the message, “Narcan has saved lives in Logan County” and “This week, Narcan saved someone’s husband, child, mom.”
In addition to MHDAS, fellow community partners working alongside the LCHD staff to host trainings have included Mary Rutan Hospital, Community Health & Wellness Partners of Logan County, Bellefontaine Municipal Court Probation, Family Treatment Court, Common Pleas Court, Adult Parole Authority, the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, Lutheran Community Services and Residential Administrators.
On the law enforcement side on the front lines of the epidemic, policies and uses for Narcan vary from agency to agency.
Russells Point Police officers carry Narcan in their cruisers, furnished by the Logan County Health District grant.
West Liberty Police officers do not carry Narcan — Macochee EMS in West Liberty is a full-time agency that carries it.
The Logan County Sheriff’s Office also utilizes the health district grant to provide naloxone for its patrol deputies. Its policy and procedure regarding naloxone is “to reduce the number of law enforcement fatalities which can result from opiate exposures, the Logan County Sheriff’s Office will train its deputies in the proper pre-hospital administration of nasal naloxone.”
Naloxone is “distributed to all deputies assigned to patrol duties from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office for the treatment of opiate-related exposures. Equipped deputies will be able to self-administer the naloxone in the event of an on-duty exposure, or offer assistance to a fellow deputy who has sustained an on-duty exposure.”
For the Logan County Jail and Logan County Juvenile Detention Center, the policy states the facilities “provide assistance to any person(s) who may be suffering from an opioid overdose. Staff trained in accordance with the policy shall make every reasonable effort to include the use of Naloxone combined with rescue breaths to revive the victim of any apparent drug overdose.”
The standard operating procedure for Bellefontaine Police Department officers is to have Narcan available in the cruisers and the staff is trained in its use.
“We have saved lives with its use,” Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley said.
“The opioid epidemic clearly showed us how drug use can prove fatal. In many local instances of overdose deaths during this epidemic, we have found instances where Narcan may have been available, but there was no one there to administer it. Sadly, this resulted in the person passing away.
“The culture of heroin, meth and other illegal substances is so addictive that the addict doesn’t think about anything else other than to get high. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple because of other foreign contaminants that were/are being added into what the addict is using.
“Fentanyl was the number one catalyst to dozens of deaths. After being shipped into America from places like China, and then added into the narcotics by the cartels, by the time the drug actually gets into the hands of a local addict, it’s hard to tell what’s been added to it that can prove instantly fatal.”
Instead of relying on Narcan to merely correct an overdose, Chief Standley said it must be step one in the right direction for an addicted individual.
“We’re thankful for Narcan, but it must not be the testing ground for future use,” Standley said. “Instead, it must be the first step in getting help.”
Similarly, Logan County Health District nurse Ashley Kunkel who helped to develop the Narcan training previously said that one of the most important aspects of the training is the chance to refer participants to treatment resources and support groups for families.
“Narcan is way that we’re able to save lives, but it is just a Band-Aid,” she said. “With this program, we’re able to get people in here who are struggling and get them help, and provide support information to families of addicts.”
To schedule a Narcan training or for more information, call Kelli Parr at the health district, (937) 651-6204.