Twenty-six days into the new year and there have been 14 fatal overdoses in Cambria County, but Thursday, as part of a county-wide grant, nearly 40 police departments were given Narcan, a drug that can save people who have overdosed.
The grant allowed the district attorney’s office to buy and distribute 300 doses of Narcan. They were distributed to police departments in the county based on the number of police cruisers each department has on the road at one time.
Officers say this is a good step towards fighting the opioid epidemic.
Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees said now that police officers can carry Narcan in the field, it helps take the pressure off other first responders and firefighters.
“Today is a good day, it’s a positive day in the county. The distribution of Narcan to area law enforcement agencies is astronomical,” Lees said. “Without the use of Narcan, I would need a much larger morgue. I would need a larger staff. That’s the harsh reality of this.”
In Cambria County alone, there were 58 fatal overdoses in 2015; that’s a rate of about 42 out of every 100,000 residents – the third highest total for any county in the state.
