Sussex EMS takes lead on Narcan training
Sussex County Emergency Medical Services, the lead agency for training agencies in administration of the opioid overdose medication Narcan, will now be paid for the training.
Jeff Cox, the county deputy director of EMS, said his agency has been at ground zero of the opioid epidemic in Sussex County. In 2016 – the worst year on record – there were 78 overdose deaths in Sussex County, and Sussex EMS administered 440 doses of Narcan.
Now, thanks to a memorandum of understanding with Delaware Division of Public Health, Office of EMS, the county will be reimbursed with a grant of $30,000 for training and $3,000 for supplies.
Narcan is used by police agencies – including Delaware State Police – and ambulance crews. Individuals can also be trained to administer the medication.
Opioid overdoses are the leading cause of injury deaths in the United States with 64,000 deaths in 2016, an increase of 21 percent from the previous year, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. There were 4,000 opioid overdose deaths in 1999.
Cox said Sussex County EMS administered less Narcan in 2017 – 316 doses – but more is now being administered by ambulance crews and law enforcement officers, so the overall numbers are equal to 2016.
“We've been doing training on our dime for a while,” he said. “We considered it part of our job doing outreach.”
Cox said other law enforcement agencies are awaiting training as are Sussex Correctional Institution guards.
Councilman Sam Wilson, R-Georgetown, asked Cox if Narcan use stops people from taking drugs.
“I do not think that,” he replied. “But we have a choice to provide help when there is an overdose, and this will help us save lives.”
“They will just keep on doing it. They need to change their way of living,” Wilson said, adding referrals should be made to treatment programs such as Delmarva Teen Challenge.
“This is the EMS part of the picture,” Cox said.
“We are just throwing money away,” Wilson said.
The memorandum was approved 5-0 by county council during its May 15 meeting. During the vote, Wilson said he disagreed with the program but voted yes.
What are opioids?
Naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray, with the brand name Narcan, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November 2015 to stop or reverse the effects of opioid overdose. FDA officials call the rise in opioid overdose deaths its biggest crisis.
Opioids include heroin, morphine, oxycodone, codeine and hydrocodone. The powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl has also contributed to the rise in overdose deaths, according to the institute.
