BLAIR COUNTY – There have been 14 drug overdose deaths in Blair County so far this year. All of last year, there was 21. In May alone, officials have blamed nine deaths on overdoses.
Community leaders and first responders are pushing for more of the drug Narcan, a drug that can revive someone who has overdosed, throughout the area.
First responders say overdoses are a big concern in the county, so much so that Judy Rosser, of Blair Drug and Alcohol Partnerships, called a meeting this week, to get the anti-overdose drug Narcan into the hands of even more first responders.
“We had a real spike over a three-week period where we lost numerous people.”
And that’s more than enough reason for Rosser to take action.
“What we’re looking at is locally what our local police departments are doing, so we’re trying to work with some of our local ones to get them trained.”
Act 139 allowed State Police and other first responders to be trained to use the drug. Now, there’s a community effort to get them in the hands of local officers.
AMED has been carrying it for years. They respond to nearly a hundred overdose calls a year, but not all are for illegal activity.
They’re ready to work with police departments to help them.
“We’ve vetted through the whole system,” said Gary Watters, Executive Director of AMED. “It’s a good program, it works, and we just need to get it a little bit proactive locally.”
Watters said the number of overdoses is more when you look at the ones they’ve treated.
“The number the coroner gives you, is not actually how many overdoses we’re seeing because there are many who are treated and released.”
Rosser and Watters both agree that it’s about getting more people educated on the drug, and access to it.
“Obviously they’re not going to use it that often, but when they do it’s going to be a significant impact,” said Watters.
“Making sure who are of culture who are using, that they have it because they’re the ones really that are gong to be there that could probably save a life, too,” said Rosser.
The Physician General of Pennsylvania is promising to write a prescription for the state.
That means any family member could walk into any pharmacy and get the Narcan. That’s expected to happen next month.
There are a lot of positives for Narcan, but there are groups opposed to making this drug readily available.
They say it could give some drug users a false sense of security. Allegheny County just enacted a similar program. Advocates say this is about saving lives. They also add that the only way this works in the long run is if they see a decline in the demand for Narcan.
Community leaders and first responders are pushing for more of the drug Narcan, a drug that can revive someone who has overdosed, throughout the area.
First responders say overdoses are a big concern in the county, so much so that Judy Rosser, of Blair Drug and Alcohol Partnerships, called a meeting this week, to get the anti-overdose drug Narcan into the hands of even more first responders.
“We had a real spike over a three-week period where we lost numerous people.”
And that’s more than enough reason for Rosser to take action.
“What we’re looking at is locally what our local police departments are doing, so we’re trying to work with some of our local ones to get them trained.”
Act 139 allowed State Police and other first responders to be trained to use the drug. Now, there’s a community effort to get them in the hands of local officers.
AMED has been carrying it for years. They respond to nearly a hundred overdose calls a year, but not all are for illegal activity.
They’re ready to work with police departments to help them.
“We’ve vetted through the whole system,” said Gary Watters, Executive Director of AMED. “It’s a good program, it works, and we just need to get it a little bit proactive locally.”
Watters said the number of overdoses is more when you look at the ones they’ve treated.
“The number the coroner gives you, is not actually how many overdoses we’re seeing because there are many who are treated and released.”
Rosser and Watters both agree that it’s about getting more people educated on the drug, and access to it.
“Obviously they’re not going to use it that often, but when they do it’s going to be a significant impact,” said Watters.
“Making sure who are of culture who are using, that they have it because they’re the ones really that are gong to be there that could probably save a life, too,” said Rosser.
The Physician General of Pennsylvania is promising to write a prescription for the state.
That means any family member could walk into any pharmacy and get the Narcan. That’s expected to happen next month.
There are a lot of positives for Narcan, but there are groups opposed to making this drug readily available.
They say it could give some drug users a false sense of security. Allegheny County just enacted a similar program. Advocates say this is about saving lives. They also add that the only way this works in the long run is if they see a decline in the demand for Narcan.