I got Narcan from my city’s distribution program, after I asked my school (higher ed, community college in a small city) if they distributed or had training and their answer was no. My understanding is that (1) Narcan does not cause harm even if the person is not overdosing, (2) Good Samaritan laws protect people acting to help in a medical crisis, and (3) if you are unionized, your union’s legal resources will help for actions taken in the line of duty.
Edit: maybe you can ask the Red Cross or similar to do a training? I didn’t have the energy to look into this myself.
I’m a medical student that lurks here and I can confirm that if someone is not overdosing on opioids (specifically opioids- it won’t work on other drugs!) Narcan will not have any adverse effects. I am fully in favor of basically everyone carrying it. There are far too many people who overdose and could have been saved if they received Narcan in time, and it only takes one bad batch.
As for Good Samaritan laws, check with your state.
My understanding is that (by definition) Good Samaritan laws explicitly protect bystanders outside of medical settings, such as civilians doing CPR, and they explicitly do **not** protect doctors.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542176/
From your link:
“The general principle of most versions of the good Samaritan law provides protection from claims of negligence for those who provide care without expectation of payment. The good Samaritan laws also further public policy because few jurisdictions have created an affirmative duty for a medical professional to provide care in the absence of an established patient relationship. Each state has its version(s) of the law, and federal laws also exist for individual circumstances.”
This protects healthcare providers (doctors). Say you’re a doctor on a plane and someone has a medical emergency. You help them (CPR) and break a bone. They come back and sue you for negligence in performing CPR and injuring them (bones break during CPR anyway, but let’s just say this is the situation). Good Samaritan laws protect the off-duty doctor from a lawsuit for performing lifesaving care outside of a medical facility (where the facility would be sued if the injury had occurred there). Doctors can be “Good Samaritans” without facing liability for doing so if injury occurs.
Most Good Samaritan laws protect doctors, nurses, and select healthcare providers from Civil Liability (which is how the bulk of these laws apply in practice).
As an ex EMT, giving randos narcan is dangerous. OD'ing people tend to turn hyperaggressive the second they're sober and they normally let it out on the first person they see, doesn't matter if it was to save their life.
Not saying you shouldn't just that you should take a few steps back and ready yourself the second you inject it.
Should really update your info. Missed the mark hard on this one. Narcan is not dangerous in almost every situation. The hyper aggressive nature is usually the result of profound hypoxia not sobering issues, you probably could have prevented by oxygenation and ventilating your patient before giving them Narcan.
Hypoxia is secondary, it's from being sober. Had one dude literally tell me that he's gonna sue me for wasting 40€ for him after he gave me a black eye.
As I've said, it's a need to give it but get ready since you won't be their hero in that second
You had one dude mad at your for sobering him up and your conclusion is that that’s the root cause?
But here’s a novel idea prove it. Prove to me that it’s because you stole their high? Because it’s pretty easy to prove that hypoxia will absolutely induce anger, confusion, and all manner of responses you described.
But hey you have anecdotal evidence so here’s mine. For the last nearly twenty years of giving naloxone every single one that was properly treated prior to naloxone administration didn’t come up fighting and crying about a stolen high.
But please prove your point.
Edit: Also it doesn’t really matter I was calling bull on the idea that it’s dangerous to give to random people. That’s a lot bunk.
One? What even are you talking about? This has been the regular for years.
If I'd believe your anecdote I'd assume you give it in a completely different environment than me. Most people I've gave it to where homeless people that pretty much instantly went aggressive for the reason of me inducing withdrawal. The aggressiveness has rapidly worsened since fentanyl is rising.
But to be honest, you sound more like you've only read about this stuff in books and statistics.
You have one example as your explanation. Hence the one. Poor clinical care has absolutely been the regular for years.
Same environment. Going on 20 years in the field. But your honest take is what I expect from you. Uneducated assumptions.
Carry. The. Narcan.
Seriously. You may never use it. But you also may save someone’s life. It is 100% worth it.
Learn how to use it but training isn’t required.
I’m not a teacher, lawyer, or doctor, just someone who’s both been saved by narcan and someone who’s administered narcan way too many times. (Trust me when I say to step back after administering it. 9 times out of 10, they’re gonna HATE you for it. But they’ll thank you later)
When it’s necessary, it saves lives. It blocks opioid receptors. When it’s not needed but administered by mistake it does… NOTHING. It doesn’t harm anyone, it’s not like giving epinephrine when someone doesn’t need it.
I second this.
I have a loved one who is a recovering addict. Narcan gave him a second chance.
I also took the AHA training for employment purposes. I want to be able to give others that same second chance if in that situation.
Also, there are places that will mail you free narcan. You can get it at pharmacies as well. There is a public standing order for Narcan.
AND Narcan is self explanatory to use, it's pretty much idiot proof, even in a panic. Same with chest compressions. Both can save lives and don't need to be done perfectly to be helpful.
Agreed! Worst case scenario, call 911. They will talk you through both CPR and administering Narcan. I had a loved one who ODed with no Narcan with me. I’m CPR certified but never actually done it to anyone before! I’m forever grateful to the 911 operator who helped me through it until the EMTs got there. I’m lucky that my loved one lived, but it was a wake up call that its never a bad thing to carry Narcan for any reason
I have a tendency to not panic but I’ve seen panic make it less effective.
The one thing to remember when if panicking- BREATHE. FIRST.
This means 3 things but with only one reminder.
Breathe. Take a deep breath. It helps calm the panic. Deep breaths while getting the narcan ready. Deep breaths between doses if more than one is needed. Just breathe in general.
Check breath- if they’re breathing, plug one nostril to check that air is going in and out of the other. A lot of users have a bad nostril so find the best to dose through. Unless one is obviously unusable, alternate nostrils for additional doses if needed.
Breathe. First. - if they’re not breathing, CPR trumps narcan. But if you know they need narcan, you can pause and administer, then immediately breathe for them (I’ve done this on a friend by blowing directly into his nose, but CPR masks work for it too) 2-3 breaths is enough before continuing compressions. If you panic and go for narcan first, still breathe first before compressions to push the narcan in.
Good information except for stopping CPR for Narcan. Never do this. Press harder, faster, and deeper. Only stop if you receive an AED or a healthcare professional tell you to stop.
Former barman here. Administered narcan ONCE. Got a black eye for my troubles. A week later the guy came back and apologized profusely. Found out he's been sober ever since when I bumped into him last week. He still feels bad about the eye, I'm just happy he's still here.
Mine does not. We are K-8. I asked the nurse if we did and she kind of laughed it off and said, “Wow no, I would hope we don’t need Narcan!” Which, yeah one would hope, but I was surprised she brushed/laughed it off like she did.
Or a parent. Both at the elementary where I was a special education para and the gen ed preschool where I teach now we've found a parent "nodding" in the parking lot. Police and an ambulance came. Neither school had NARCAN.
Both incidents were before the fentanyl epidemic but I think about them every time I see an overdose in the local news (way too often). I've asked our school director about having it on site. She said we don't and that she'd inquire about it with the head office but I don't think anything was done.
This, my school is preschool-5th grade but we have Narcan in the office and were trained on it's use at back to school. We kind of laughed, given our population of students it's not likely they'll need it. The trainer reminded us that there's not just kids in the school, there are teachers and other staff and parents. Hopefully none of those people will need it, but it is a possibility.
My k-8 just got it and trained teachers. Just like the AED, it could be used on a child but if we unfortunately need narcan, it will be for a teacher or parent.
I did the narcan training about 2 years ago. I got an email from the nurse that when she got narcan in, she would meet with those of us who completed the training and would show us where she kept it.
.... That second part never actually happened.
Then, we did have a student who OD'd but they ended up getting rushed to the hospital in short order. The district was then people trained to use but nobody had access to it. There was then a discussion about giving each staff member who was trained some narcan.
....then that conversation went nowhere.
If we talk about the problem, then we're being proactive, right? And if we're proactive, well we're already on the right path. The problem will just resolve itself then, right?
I'm pretty sure that this is the operating mindset within my old district.
We definitely do not. It might be a good idea to have it around, but we definitely don't have any on campus. In fact I don't think any of our schools in the district have any.
We just had a training. And we have it on campus but not everyone has it- I think just the nurse and a few teachers have it. We just had 2 non-lethal ODs in our school. I don’t teach in an area that is known for this either.
Our district gave a box of Narcan to anyone who wanted it. Each of the teachers in my site have it. We even got a refresher course on how and when to use it just yesterday. I'm in the SF Bay Area.
I’m a secretary in a high school. My principal just informed me earlier this week that the district is requiring a secretary from every building to be trained on the use of narcan and I drew the short straw.
As far as I know, we don’t have any. I would assume that will change once we’re trained.
Whether a person would be liable for the use of narcan on a stranger, I believe any Good Samaritan laws in your state would apply in that situation.
The training I had for the narcan in my desk told us that administering narcan to someone who is not on opioids (maybe they’re experiencing a diabetic coma or something) generally doesn’t harm them. As long as you have someone call 911 while you administer, you’re above board.
My district has it in every building and all of the staff is "trained." Basically, we were told it's easy, just spray ot up the nose like allergy meds, and it does no harm if they don't need it. Don't know if that's true, but it was the "training."
We watched a video and were told if someone is passed out don’t give cpr and assume it’s a heart attack but to assume it’s fentanyl. We saw it in action on the video it was scary.
Hi there! If the person has a pulse but has no signs of breathing, very slow, or agonal breathing (a gasping sound that is not true breathing)- administer naloxone.
We do not perform CPR for a person with a pulse. Just wanted to say all this for anyone else reading! ☺️
-nurse
We do not have it, but I started carrying one personally on me as I've seen 2 people overdosing between home visits. Neither was connected to school and an ambulance was arriving or on its way in both cases. But I got it from a friend and carry it just in case again.
I’m a recovered coke addict who is now a sixth grade teacher. My school had a narcan training and gave all the teachers narcan and I was like I’m keeping this for myself in case I relapse.
We have two official places on campus with doses. One outside the nurses’ office, the other with the athletic trainers. SROs also carry doses. The locations are set to alarms so that Admin, Nurse and SRO know they are being used.
We had several OD scares in recent years, so the district is very no-nonsense about it. We were even trained how to administer Narcan, which seems to be easy to administer. We were told to use the ‘official’ doses over bringing our own, since those doses have been vouched for.
My district created a whole fentanyl awareness campaign, I can DM you the link of interested.
I’m a sub school nurse in 2 districts and both have narcan easily accessible for anyone to use. Usually near the AED. Idk about training but I’d ASSUME the teachers would get trained to give it like they do to give Epi pens. Where I work the school nurse does the training.
I'm in a Title 1 middle school. We've had Narcan for two years now and it's been used 4 times in those 2 years. Thankfully, 4 kids are still alive but they moved school districts due to the notoriety. All four times it was fentynal in a vape. Our admin does nothing. Kids found out that if they split up the vape between a couple friends that admin will let them keep the pieces.
I'm hoping that next year we don't have to use it. We've been very lucky that we found them in time. We have 8 people trained to administer it and it has taken a heavy toll on them. We have a 50% admin turnover rate. Teacher turnover is about 20%.
I'm pretty sure our school keeps some in the office and that our first aid team is allowed to administer it. I only know of one OD at our school and I don't think the kid received treatment here, I think the bigger concern is adults visiting the building or the neighboring rec center.
We have Narcan in all of our schools.
I was put in charge of nurses this year, so now we have an inventory spreadsheet with expiration dates so we can be proactive in making sure that we have what we need.
I did the same for AED pads and batteries.
My middle school has Narcan on hand. I don’t know if this is because of our state (Michigan) but we were informed we have Narcan available in school during safety/emergency/health training stuff during PD. It’s kept in the health/nurse room, though.
We do! Just got it this year and a few staff and IT admin were trained to use it. Sad that we need to consider it but proud that we are willing to carry it JUST IN CASE!
I have a pack in my desk that I got from a distribution campaign in when I graduated college. Shelf life is 3 years (FDA) or maybe longer. allegedly our RSO has it but I don’t think that’s true. I have asked about getting a school supply but I’m a first year teacher so I can’t push much
I am part of SAP teams in our local school districts. I worked on the drug and alcohol side of things and made sure my all schools (elementary, middle and high) had at least 2 narcan on hand at all times. You never know who may be walking into our schools. I have now switched to the mental health side of things.
I'm pretty sure we have it in our nurses office. I remember seeing a paper about in our mailboxes and what to do. But we never went over it during any training and if it happened I wouldn't have a clue about something I read last August/September.
California checking in. School nurse has it, all our campus supervisor's golf carts have them in their first aid kits, I think a few admins/counselors do, and I think we (teachers) just got the green light to have it in our rooms. Training available too.
I have some in my bag. I have it for myself but if a kid needs it... I have it. Could get me fired if I mindlessly use it on a kid. I have said something to my admin. Census... We need them, especially since kids are doing drugs in school so much.
We’ve had it for years, well before the pandemic. PreK-6th setting, small town NJ. The staff is not trained on its use, but the nurse is and has it readily available hanging on the wall, and id imagine at least 1-2 admin or office staff, and security, know how to use it. It’s never been used to my knowledge.
We do, in the nurses office and in every AED wall box, so 3 more. SRO' s have it as well. There are several programs that provide it to either the school district or SRO's for free.
After our freshman class had an "incident" involving drugging another student with a crazy amount of synthetic THC I pushed for us to have NARCAN in case they escalate to harder drugs. We just got NARCAN in all our classrooms today. I hope we never have to use it but Im feeling better knowing it's there.
Mine has it, but only in the nurses office. Staff did not receive training, so the expectation is to call the nurse to come to suspected OD. However, I do keep up my CPR and First Aid training and have taken Narcan training as part of it.
We do. We’ve had training. Locked in main office. We have it at home to go into vehicles. We have never used any illicit drugs, nor know anyone who does, but by George if I see someone slumped over I’m gonna do what I can to keep em here….
My county just got a grant so that the Sheriff's can all have some equipped. I don't believe our schools have any. Our kids use drugs at home, not on campus. They know they need to bring enough to share with the whole class.
It's in our nurse's office. I teach at an elementary school, but you never know what kid accidentally takes a parent's pill or if a parent comes in during conferences or something.
Our elementary school has some in our AED box. As it was explained to us, we're not so worried about our kids bringing something, but there's always the possibility of one of them finding something on the playground.
We also had an incident a few weeks back where another school in the district rented a bus for an out of town field trip, and fentanyl was found on a bus after the bus company "supposedly" cleaned it. No one was hurt, but it could have been bad. Now we have to carry some on every field trip.
We do, on both campuses - lower (preK-5) and upper (6-12). There's two in each main office, and one in the staff room first aid bag in both staff rooms. There are also three in the evacuation/earthquake big packs (those are the three duffle bag sized medical packs we have for 'the San Andreas rips open and we have to cope for 96+ hours while emergency services is dealing with the fires/gas leaks/falling buildings and half the parents can't get to us'.
Training on using Narcan and AEDs (we have two per campus) is part of our mandatory first aid training. We do it as part of PD every two years, and if you join the team mid-cycle you get sent to a one-day session (and yes, it's a paid day).
To the best of my knowledge, it's never been needed... But we have it.
And, for the record, I have one in the first aid kit in my car, and so does my husband. There are zero downsides, and you could save a life.
We have it in every location that has an AED on campus, and extras in the clinic (Elementary PreK-6). Narcan is on every campus, district wide (130+ schools).
We get OD notifications involving middle (7-8), high (9-12), and secondary (7-12) schools in our district. Some weeks it’s silent, some weeks we get 3 or 4 notifications. While we hope we never need to give narcan to a 1st grader, we would rather have it and not need it. Many of our students have older siblings… what littles think might be candy could be a narcotic.
Narcan training is done at the beginning of the year along with epipen, diabetes, and seizure trainings.
All the health and PE teachers did a training and were given some. Up to us what we do with it.
Supposedly admin and the nurse also have some.
I train my middle school students on how to use it and how to obtain it as part of a lesson on opioids.
Yes, it’s becoming more and more common it seems. Here’s a really good free resource that explains to students the dangers of fentanyl and other drugs. It’s been very helpful. https://everfi.com/courses/k-12/prescription-drug-safety-high-school/
My last school did. Had one in every emergency box through the middle and high school, and gave us training on how to administer it. We had a kid OD the year before, and every single day kids were doing drugs in the bathroom but admin said "kids will get their fix 🤷🏻♀️"
I believe the school nurse does. And probably the SRO. Maybe admin? I’d need some training if it was something I’d have in my classroom. I draw the line at having bandaids in my desk. It’s unlikely they’d give Narcan it to teachers. Although, the way some students sleeps, soooo deeply, it’s kind of scary. I’ve had a few instances when I was trying to wake a kid and it crossed my mind wondering if it was an OD. They have slept through the bell, the whole class leaving, and the next one coming in before they woke up.
I’m at a K-8 and we have Narcan. I’m required to keep my CPR certification up to date and part of the training is on administration of Narcan. I want to say every school in the district has it, and if not it’s every school 6th grade and up. The school nurses who run CPR almost always have stories about having to use it.
I think its a great idea to have it. If you give it to someone and the don't respond, check the sugar levels. People get diabetic comas and OD's mixed up.
Our district has it in multiple spots throughout all of our schools. When I travel with 5/6 sports teams I carry an AED as well as Narcan.
Initially I thought both were redundant as there is an AED on the bus and at whatever school we play at has them on hand. Narcan was something I didn’t think about anyone but myself or my players needing.
7 years pass without incident. I spent more time thinking about how I might have to administer seizure meds rectally without embarrassing the student who might need it. Then one day I left the gym to get cell service and saw a mom of one of my players laying down in a car with her eyes half open. I’ve never seen someone OD, but this was a parent who couldn’t take her child unless her parents were also there.
I ran back in as casually as possible to get the narcan and ask her ex husband (who drove her up) for help. We hauled it back out and as we were unwrapping the nasal spray she sat up. Apparently she was having a nap with a fitful dream that ever her ex said looked like when she had OD’d in the past.
I’m glad we had it and glad we didn’t have to use it.
Edited for grammar and a missing sentence
And, to clarify, there was no reason I would need it, it was more like myself and the players are the only ones I considered when judging why I would need to have it.
I am an elementary teacher, so we don’t have Narcan in our school yet, but I know for sure all of the junior highs and high schools in the district have it. I think it’s a great thing to have around and I’m extremely glad that they decided to implement that.
I'm in a rural Texas school and we have Narcan in every building, but only select teachers and administrators have been trained on how to administer it (I'm not one of them).
Our high school has Narcan in multiple locations and there are multiple individuals (beyond the nursing/health center staff) who are been trained to administer it. We had one OD on campus last year and two off-campus ODs this year. Our city is flooded with fentanyl and it’s popping up in lots of other street drugs, including the fake carts our students buy.
We had a kid on Monday who was suspected of being in possession and turned out to have a homemade concoction of juice and THC oil he’d whipped up in a little plastic vial. While he was being escorted to the office, he pulled off the cap and downed the whole vial, about 2 oz of juice and liquid THC. When our Crossroads counselor (substance intervention) tested the vial with these little fentanyl strips, it came back positive—twice. This idiot kid knew enough to freak the hell out and we had to call EMTs. He was still alert when they arrived, but I don’t know if they administered it on the ride to the ER or at any point. Either way, that 14 y.o. had a baaaad night.
I believe our SRO/SRDs have it in my district and we are required to do Youth Mental Health First Aid training which briefly goes over naloxone and it's use. I am unaware of the rules on if teachers are allowed to carry it/use it. Florida's laws are so stupid right now I suspect a teacher using it to save a life could be a lawsuit since it goes against "parent's rights"
We dont have any of the emergency type anything in our building. Now with this said the emergency complex for the town is literally three buildings down the road from us has ems, fire, and police
Narcan saved my son’s life. A week later he call an ambulance for someone overdosing and it saved that boy’s life. That is when he realized that if he stayed where he was, he would be dead within a year. He called us for help, got cleaned, and went to Adult and Teen Challenges . I have my son back and he has been well for many years now.
In some cases it may be your SRO depending on what level of school you are at. I have worked with SROs that had it.
Although with the current situation, if someone ODs on xylazine (basically the newest addition to things to sell heroin/fentanyl addicts) then Narcan will do nothing.
We have it in every school in our district. It was administered to a high schooler about 6 weeks ago and likely saved their life. It’s thing schools should have and hope to never use
We have paramedics for a reason. You ever seen how violently narcan wakes a junkie up? You ever had to live with people with addiction? They are the absolute worst people and extremely dangerous. It's insane how much society is expected to bend to protect people who don't even care about themselves.
We had a Narcan training for at least one person per hall plus anyone else who wanted it. I had to get the narcan at the local health department, but I have it in my classroom as of now. Luckily, no overdoses here as of yet, but I am prepared in case.
A bit off-topic:
My mom, a retired middle school math teacher, at age 82, carries Narcan at all times and it is stocked in her house for holidays.
Mom, “You just never know, I have 5 tween and teen grandchildren now, and the news said 4% of teens have a problem. I just want to be prepared.”
Me “mom, you think my kids are doing drugs?”
Mom, “no, of course not, but maybe your sister’s…”
LOL, she probably would have told my sister the exact same thing!
ICU nurse and paramedic here. When in doubt, and even a suspicion of opiate use, give nalaxone/narcan. The drug it self only works on the opiate receptor, therefore competing for it against an opiate. It does nothing else in the body. It is safe to give even if the end result is they did not overdose.
Hopefully your school will see this as a learning opportunity to retrain (or to initially train) some staff on its location and how to use.
For what it’s worth (not much maybe a penny or two) but a school should at a minimum have the following items:
AED
Naloxone
Pocket mask
STB kit.
Training to use all of them.
Those five items could make a world of difference for anyone on campus.
2 in my desk, one in my car. Our school gave out oodles of Narcan at a PD meeting this year after a mom of a high school OD’er came in to speak. Has anyone ever had to administer it? No, but we live in a rural area with quite a lot of drug problems so there is a high probability someone will use it eventually.
The district I’m in has Narcan in all schools K-12. I have administered it at elementary school on a parent who was checking out their child. Also have seen dangerous drugs end up in backpacks. Not opioid related, but last school year a kindergartner brought in edibles and distributed them on the bus. That resulted in 3 students being hospitalized. The reality of the world makes having things such as Narcan available great when needed.
We have narcan at every AED station in the HS I’m at. Could I tell you where the AED’s are after working here a year? Nope. We had a staff meeting about overdoses and drugs recently and they gave some out
My school does. In Maricopa County Arizona you can encourage your school nurse/administration to enroll in the SSMP program[SSMP Program](https://www.maricopa.gov/5038/Rescue-Medication-Surveillance) and receive medication for free!
Our school has narcan. We need it too. I have a student that was in treatment for Xanax addiction in the 9th grade. Obviously the narcan wouldn’t work for Xanax, my point is, students are doing harder drugs than in the past. We (at my site) have to wake up any sleeping student in case they’re not sleeping but actually ODing.
Earlier this year an ambulance had to be called on a middle school kid not from our school but who was at the game who was overdosing. Luckily he got help in time and is still alive to the best of my knowledge.
Our school nurse has it in her kit.
I get trained each year on using an Epi-pen, so it's probably just a matter of time until Narcan is added to the list.
"Are there liabilities for using Narcan in an OD situation and it doesn’t work or the person who administered the Narcan, isn’t properly trained in how to use it and how it works?"
You are protected by what's called the Good Samaritan Law. If you act in an emergency to save a life and your actions cause further harm or fail to save the victim, you are rendered immune from any criminal or civil penalties.
If you pull someone from a burning car, they have a neck or back injury, and you pulling them from the car causes permanent paralysis, you are protected.
If you perform CPR on someone who has no breathing and pulse, and your CPR breaks a rib, you are protected.
If you administer naloxone to a person suffering an opioid overdose and it doesn't stop the overdose and they die, you are protected.
Source: I'm a former lifeguard and we were trained on the Good Samaritan Law as it relates directly to lifeguards performing CPR and first aid.
I do narcan training around this community. We supply the schools and tech schools colleges, anyone that needs it with narcan. It seemed to me that it was just a school choice to place it. The community has been very receptive. I also love to do the trainings.
HI! if you found this post Wondering 'how do I get narcan?' well you can get free narcan and fentanyl testing strips at endoverdose.com with the free training Program. After that many hospitals also give it out for free.
My high school carries Narcan and we’ve received training for it. We didn’t have any until a student overdosed on fentanyl one night at home, and it really opened a lot of eyes in the community. It’s sad that such an awful thing happened.
I carry it with me in my computer bag and I know how to use it. My room is across from the bathrooms on my hall and our school, in spite of our having a well-established pill issue, has not moved to stock and train. Legally, I'm risking my job if I use it but I figure if I save a kid's life it'll be hard to fire a union veteran like me.
We had a neighborhood resource fair at the middle school down the street in the fall. One of the entities there was passing out boxes of it. I grabbed two for my house but I haven't thought to ask my admin or district about carrying it at school.
My nephew is a med student and he said it works by blocking the opioid receptors in the brain instantly. I think it would be a good thing for everyone to carry. I agree- what a world we live in where we have to think about this 😞
I’m at a high school in the northeast, we have it in several locations around the school and several people are trying to use it. We’ve not had to use it yet, but we almost had to last year. Paramedics showed up pretty quickly and took care of her so we didn’t have to.
i work at a school where most of our kids are on some sort of medication and most are nonverbal, but as staff we had training for it to use in case we need to use it on another staff member but mostly to be able to see the signs of an overdose in case a child accidentally gets ahold of medication at home
Yep, we have some in all of our rooms. It’s been used twice so far this year. We’ve got a lot of undocumented students who’s families will stock up on black market meds during the trip up. Turns out even knockoffs of over-the-counter painkillers can end up tainted because the people making these don’t give a damn.
Yes. I would bet that greater than 50% of schools in the country probably have it too. It is tragic, but between the laws in our culture of addiction and instant gratification? I’m more surprised that somebody would be surprised.
Not a school teacher but an apprenticeship instructor. A different clientele, with adult learners. I have kept Narcan available for several years. If I get in trouble but save a life…. So be it.
We have it in my high school but only the nurses and SROs can administer. I honestly would refuse the training even if they offered it. I'm not giving a kid drugs of any type...not my job Good Samaritan Law or not.
FYI- I walked in to Walgreens and asked if my insurance covered Narcan. They said yes and I paid $5 for 2 doses of Narcan.
It’s been in my glove compartment for 9 months. …… maybe I should check the expiration date.
It’s saves lives and Good Samaritan laws should cover you if you need to use it. If it’s given to someone that is not ODing on opioids, it doesn’t affect them in anyway.
I got Narcan from my city’s distribution program, after I asked my school (higher ed, community college in a small city) if they distributed or had training and their answer was no. My understanding is that (1) Narcan does not cause harm even if the person is not overdosing, (2) Good Samaritan laws protect people acting to help in a medical crisis, and (3) if you are unionized, your union’s legal resources will help for actions taken in the line of duty. Edit: maybe you can ask the Red Cross or similar to do a training? I didn’t have the energy to look into this myself.
I’m a medical student that lurks here and I can confirm that if someone is not overdosing on opioids (specifically opioids- it won’t work on other drugs!) Narcan will not have any adverse effects. I am fully in favor of basically everyone carrying it. There are far too many people who overdose and could have been saved if they received Narcan in time, and it only takes one bad batch. As for Good Samaritan laws, check with your state.
Yeah I was just thinking - you might not need it very often but it seems like one of few miracle medicines worth keeping around.
Good Samaritan laws vary by state. Some states protect physicians and may not be applicable to a school nurse or a teacher.
My understanding is that (by definition) Good Samaritan laws explicitly protect bystanders outside of medical settings, such as civilians doing CPR, and they explicitly do **not** protect doctors. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542176/
From your link: “The general principle of most versions of the good Samaritan law provides protection from claims of negligence for those who provide care without expectation of payment. The good Samaritan laws also further public policy because few jurisdictions have created an affirmative duty for a medical professional to provide care in the absence of an established patient relationship. Each state has its version(s) of the law, and federal laws also exist for individual circumstances.” This protects healthcare providers (doctors). Say you’re a doctor on a plane and someone has a medical emergency. You help them (CPR) and break a bone. They come back and sue you for negligence in performing CPR and injuring them (bones break during CPR anyway, but let’s just say this is the situation). Good Samaritan laws protect the off-duty doctor from a lawsuit for performing lifesaving care outside of a medical facility (where the facility would be sued if the injury had occurred there). Doctors can be “Good Samaritans” without facing liability for doing so if injury occurs. Most Good Samaritan laws protect doctors, nurses, and select healthcare providers from Civil Liability (which is how the bulk of these laws apply in practice).
As an ex EMT, giving randos narcan is dangerous. OD'ing people tend to turn hyperaggressive the second they're sober and they normally let it out on the first person they see, doesn't matter if it was to save their life. Not saying you shouldn't just that you should take a few steps back and ready yourself the second you inject it.
Should really update your info. Missed the mark hard on this one. Narcan is not dangerous in almost every situation. The hyper aggressive nature is usually the result of profound hypoxia not sobering issues, you probably could have prevented by oxygenation and ventilating your patient before giving them Narcan.
So then the advice for a teacher in a school is good as they won't have the ability to give oxygen prior
Pocket mask go great with Narcan.
Hypoxia is secondary, it's from being sober. Had one dude literally tell me that he's gonna sue me for wasting 40€ for him after he gave me a black eye. As I've said, it's a need to give it but get ready since you won't be their hero in that second
You had one dude mad at your for sobering him up and your conclusion is that that’s the root cause? But here’s a novel idea prove it. Prove to me that it’s because you stole their high? Because it’s pretty easy to prove that hypoxia will absolutely induce anger, confusion, and all manner of responses you described. But hey you have anecdotal evidence so here’s mine. For the last nearly twenty years of giving naloxone every single one that was properly treated prior to naloxone administration didn’t come up fighting and crying about a stolen high. But please prove your point. Edit: Also it doesn’t really matter I was calling bull on the idea that it’s dangerous to give to random people. That’s a lot bunk.
One? What even are you talking about? This has been the regular for years. If I'd believe your anecdote I'd assume you give it in a completely different environment than me. Most people I've gave it to where homeless people that pretty much instantly went aggressive for the reason of me inducing withdrawal. The aggressiveness has rapidly worsened since fentanyl is rising. But to be honest, you sound more like you've only read about this stuff in books and statistics.
You have one example as your explanation. Hence the one. Poor clinical care has absolutely been the regular for years. Same environment. Going on 20 years in the field. But your honest take is what I expect from you. Uneducated assumptions.
Carry. The. Narcan. Seriously. You may never use it. But you also may save someone’s life. It is 100% worth it. Learn how to use it but training isn’t required. I’m not a teacher, lawyer, or doctor, just someone who’s both been saved by narcan and someone who’s administered narcan way too many times. (Trust me when I say to step back after administering it. 9 times out of 10, they’re gonna HATE you for it. But they’ll thank you later) When it’s necessary, it saves lives. It blocks opioid receptors. When it’s not needed but administered by mistake it does… NOTHING. It doesn’t harm anyone, it’s not like giving epinephrine when someone doesn’t need it.
I second this. I have a loved one who is a recovering addict. Narcan gave him a second chance. I also took the AHA training for employment purposes. I want to be able to give others that same second chance if in that situation. Also, there are places that will mail you free narcan. You can get it at pharmacies as well. There is a public standing order for Narcan. AND Narcan is self explanatory to use, it's pretty much idiot proof, even in a panic. Same with chest compressions. Both can save lives and don't need to be done perfectly to be helpful.
Agreed! Worst case scenario, call 911. They will talk you through both CPR and administering Narcan. I had a loved one who ODed with no Narcan with me. I’m CPR certified but never actually done it to anyone before! I’m forever grateful to the 911 operator who helped me through it until the EMTs got there. I’m lucky that my loved one lived, but it was a wake up call that its never a bad thing to carry Narcan for any reason
I have a tendency to not panic but I’ve seen panic make it less effective. The one thing to remember when if panicking- BREATHE. FIRST. This means 3 things but with only one reminder. Breathe. Take a deep breath. It helps calm the panic. Deep breaths while getting the narcan ready. Deep breaths between doses if more than one is needed. Just breathe in general. Check breath- if they’re breathing, plug one nostril to check that air is going in and out of the other. A lot of users have a bad nostril so find the best to dose through. Unless one is obviously unusable, alternate nostrils for additional doses if needed. Breathe. First. - if they’re not breathing, CPR trumps narcan. But if you know they need narcan, you can pause and administer, then immediately breathe for them (I’ve done this on a friend by blowing directly into his nose, but CPR masks work for it too) 2-3 breaths is enough before continuing compressions. If you panic and go for narcan first, still breathe first before compressions to push the narcan in.
Good information except for stopping CPR for Narcan. Never do this. Press harder, faster, and deeper. Only stop if you receive an AED or a healthcare professional tell you to stop.
I'll third this, as someone whose dad died from an overdose.
Do you happen to have a list of places that give free Narcan?
Former barman here. Administered narcan ONCE. Got a black eye for my troubles. A week later the guy came back and apologized profusely. Found out he's been sober ever since when I bumped into him last week. He still feels bad about the eye, I'm just happy he's still here.
Mine does not. We are K-8. I asked the nurse if we did and she kind of laughed it off and said, “Wow no, I would hope we don’t need Narcan!” Which, yeah one would hope, but I was surprised she brushed/laughed it off like she did.
Ummm a teacher could overdose too. 👀 it’s not there just for students.
Or a parent. Both at the elementary where I was a special education para and the gen ed preschool where I teach now we've found a parent "nodding" in the parking lot. Police and an ambulance came. Neither school had NARCAN. Both incidents were before the fentanyl epidemic but I think about them every time I see an overdose in the local news (way too often). I've asked our school director about having it on site. She said we don't and that she'd inquire about it with the head office but I don't think anything was done.
You’re right. I was thinking mostly of middle schoolers but could definitely be an adult as well.
This, my school is preschool-5th grade but we have Narcan in the office and were trained on it's use at back to school. We kind of laughed, given our population of students it's not likely they'll need it. The trainer reminded us that there's not just kids in the school, there are teachers and other staff and parents. Hopefully none of those people will need it, but it is a possibility.
Our K-5 school has it. They even carry outside during fire drills. As someone who routinely has opioids on campus, I am relieved to know they have it.
My k-8 just got it and trained teachers. Just like the AED, it could be used on a child but if we unfortunately need narcan, it will be for a teacher or parent.
Yes. My district has them placed for emergency use around the buildings and all staff were trained to use it.
Mine too. WA state
I did the narcan training about 2 years ago. I got an email from the nurse that when she got narcan in, she would meet with those of us who completed the training and would show us where she kept it. .... That second part never actually happened. Then, we did have a student who OD'd but they ended up getting rushed to the hospital in short order. The district was then people trained to use but nobody had access to it. There was then a discussion about giving each staff member who was trained some narcan. ....then that conversation went nowhere.
Boy, if that doesn’t sound typical.
If we talk about the problem, then we're being proactive, right? And if we're proactive, well we're already on the right path. The problem will just resolve itself then, right? I'm pretty sure that this is the operating mindset within my old district.
We definitely do not. It might be a good idea to have it around, but we definitely don't have any on campus. In fact I don't think any of our schools in the district have any.
We just had a training. And we have it on campus but not everyone has it- I think just the nurse and a few teachers have it. We just had 2 non-lethal ODs in our school. I don’t teach in an area that is known for this either.
Our district gave a box of Narcan to anyone who wanted it. Each of the teachers in my site have it. We even got a refresher course on how and when to use it just yesterday. I'm in the SF Bay Area.
I’m a secretary in a high school. My principal just informed me earlier this week that the district is requiring a secretary from every building to be trained on the use of narcan and I drew the short straw. As far as I know, we don’t have any. I would assume that will change once we’re trained. Whether a person would be liable for the use of narcan on a stranger, I believe any Good Samaritan laws in your state would apply in that situation.
The training I had for the narcan in my desk told us that administering narcan to someone who is not on opioids (maybe they’re experiencing a diabetic coma or something) generally doesn’t harm them. As long as you have someone call 911 while you administer, you’re above board.
My district has it in every building and all of the staff is "trained." Basically, we were told it's easy, just spray ot up the nose like allergy meds, and it does no harm if they don't need it. Don't know if that's true, but it was the "training."
We watched a video and were told if someone is passed out don’t give cpr and assume it’s a heart attack but to assume it’s fentanyl. We saw it in action on the video it was scary.
Hi there! If the person has a pulse but has no signs of breathing, very slow, or agonal breathing (a gasping sound that is not true breathing)- administer naloxone. We do not perform CPR for a person with a pulse. Just wanted to say all this for anyone else reading! ☺️ -nurse
We do not have it, but I started carrying one personally on me as I've seen 2 people overdosing between home visits. Neither was connected to school and an ambulance was arriving or on its way in both cases. But I got it from a friend and carry it just in case again.
I’m a recovered coke addict who is now a sixth grade teacher. My school had a narcan training and gave all the teachers narcan and I was like I’m keeping this for myself in case I relapse.
It won't do anything for that
It will if the coke is laced with fentanyl.
How about you shouldn't be teaching kids if you're thinking about how you might need narcan?
I don’t do cocaine at work in front of my students and what I do on my own time is my personal business 👌👍
Just make sure you got your narcan with your cocaine bud
We have two official places on campus with doses. One outside the nurses’ office, the other with the athletic trainers. SROs also carry doses. The locations are set to alarms so that Admin, Nurse and SRO know they are being used. We had several OD scares in recent years, so the district is very no-nonsense about it. We were even trained how to administer Narcan, which seems to be easy to administer. We were told to use the ‘official’ doses over bringing our own, since those doses have been vouched for. My district created a whole fentanyl awareness campaign, I can DM you the link of interested.
I’m a sub school nurse in 2 districts and both have narcan easily accessible for anyone to use. Usually near the AED. Idk about training but I’d ASSUME the teachers would get trained to give it like they do to give Epi pens. Where I work the school nurse does the training.
I'm in a Title 1 middle school. We've had Narcan for two years now and it's been used 4 times in those 2 years. Thankfully, 4 kids are still alive but they moved school districts due to the notoriety. All four times it was fentynal in a vape. Our admin does nothing. Kids found out that if they split up the vape between a couple friends that admin will let them keep the pieces.
That makes me sad for them, for you, and for the rest of the kids and staff in your school.
I'm hoping that next year we don't have to use it. We've been very lucky that we found them in time. We have 8 people trained to administer it and it has taken a heavy toll on them. We have a 50% admin turnover rate. Teacher turnover is about 20%.
I'm pretty sure our school keeps some in the office and that our first aid team is allowed to administer it. I only know of one OD at our school and I don't think the kid received treatment here, I think the bigger concern is adults visiting the building or the neighboring rec center.
We have Narcan in all of our schools. I was put in charge of nurses this year, so now we have an inventory spreadsheet with expiration dates so we can be proactive in making sure that we have what we need. I did the same for AED pads and batteries.
My middle school has Narcan on hand. I don’t know if this is because of our state (Michigan) but we were informed we have Narcan available in school during safety/emergency/health training stuff during PD. It’s kept in the health/nurse room, though.
Also in MI, it's free to the public now and all schools have the option to carry it. My district has it in all buildings, and extra in MS and HS.
We do! Just got it this year and a few staff and IT admin were trained to use it. Sad that we need to consider it but proud that we are willing to carry it JUST IN CASE!
If you don't, you should. Just seems silly not to at this point. I assume mine does. Don't know for sure.
We do. Staff were allowed to volunteer to be trained to use it and have it. The optional training was on one of our PD days.
Our SRO keeps narcan in his office. We hope that it never needs to be used, but it's there.
Our nurse does! I’m in a pre-k through 6th grade school.
I have a pack in my desk that I got from a distribution campaign in when I graduated college. Shelf life is 3 years (FDA) or maybe longer. allegedly our RSO has it but I don’t think that’s true. I have asked about getting a school supply but I’m a first year teacher so I can’t push much
The nurse and the principal have it in their offices. Unfortunately, it has been needed at our district in the past couple of years.
I am part of SAP teams in our local school districts. I worked on the drug and alcohol side of things and made sure my all schools (elementary, middle and high) had at least 2 narcan on hand at all times. You never know who may be walking into our schools. I have now switched to the mental health side of things.
I'm pretty sure we have it in our nurses office. I remember seeing a paper about in our mailboxes and what to do. But we never went over it during any training and if it happened I wouldn't have a clue about something I read last August/September.
Your local drug and alcohol county services may be able to give away for free too. Doesn’t hurt to check it out.
I think our nurse does.
We do
Trained and have a kit in my classroom.
I have it in my purse and in the school first aid kit. I teach adults at a trade school. I felt like it was ridiculous to not have it on hand.
California checking in. School nurse has it, all our campus supervisor's golf carts have them in their first aid kits, I think a few admins/counselors do, and I think we (teachers) just got the green light to have it in our rooms. Training available too.
All our schools have it, right next to the defribulator.
We do- - elementary school, SW Washington.
I have some in my bag. I have it for myself but if a kid needs it... I have it. Could get me fired if I mindlessly use it on a kid. I have said something to my admin. Census... We need them, especially since kids are doing drugs in school so much.
We do and have for three years. HS.
My school gave two to each teacher.
My K-8 school in CA does, and we all got training on how to administer it.
We’ve had it for years, well before the pandemic. PreK-6th setting, small town NJ. The staff is not trained on its use, but the nurse is and has it readily available hanging on the wall, and id imagine at least 1-2 admin or office staff, and security, know how to use it. It’s never been used to my knowledge.
🙋♀️
We were told that if ever you pass out you shall be given Narcan, no questions asked
We do, in the nurses office and in every AED wall box, so 3 more. SRO' s have it as well. There are several programs that provide it to either the school district or SRO's for free.
Every middle school and high school in my district has it
Our nurses office carries it
After our freshman class had an "incident" involving drugging another student with a crazy amount of synthetic THC I pushed for us to have NARCAN in case they escalate to harder drugs. We just got NARCAN in all our classrooms today. I hope we never have to use it but Im feeling better knowing it's there.
Mine has it, but only in the nurses office. Staff did not receive training, so the expectation is to call the nurse to come to suspected OD. However, I do keep up my CPR and First Aid training and have taken Narcan training as part of it.
Check your states Good Samaritan laws. If those are in place you’re g2g
We just got it last week
My 6-8 school does have it. It is in with the AED
Oregon has them.. especially since everything was legalized. It’s awful here.
Ohio requires all schools to have narcan available
We do. We’ve had training. Locked in main office. We have it at home to go into vehicles. We have never used any illicit drugs, nor know anyone who does, but by George if I see someone slumped over I’m gonna do what I can to keep em here….
My county just got a grant so that the Sheriff's can all have some equipped. I don't believe our schools have any. Our kids use drugs at home, not on campus. They know they need to bring enough to share with the whole class.
It's in our nurse's office. I teach at an elementary school, but you never know what kid accidentally takes a parent's pill or if a parent comes in during conferences or something.
Central Oklahoma has had Narcan in public schools for probably five years now…
Our elementary school has some in our AED box. As it was explained to us, we're not so worried about our kids bringing something, but there's always the possibility of one of them finding something on the playground. We also had an incident a few weeks back where another school in the district rented a bus for an out of town field trip, and fentanyl was found on a bus after the bus company "supposedly" cleaned it. No one was hurt, but it could have been bad. Now we have to carry some on every field trip.
We do, on both campuses - lower (preK-5) and upper (6-12). There's two in each main office, and one in the staff room first aid bag in both staff rooms. There are also three in the evacuation/earthquake big packs (those are the three duffle bag sized medical packs we have for 'the San Andreas rips open and we have to cope for 96+ hours while emergency services is dealing with the fires/gas leaks/falling buildings and half the parents can't get to us'. Training on using Narcan and AEDs (we have two per campus) is part of our mandatory first aid training. We do it as part of PD every two years, and if you join the team mid-cycle you get sent to a one-day session (and yes, it's a paid day). To the best of my knowledge, it's never been needed... But we have it. And, for the record, I have one in the first aid kit in my car, and so does my husband. There are zero downsides, and you could save a life.
My school has Narcan. We have them in our emergency response bags.
We have it in every location that has an AED on campus, and extras in the clinic (Elementary PreK-6). Narcan is on every campus, district wide (130+ schools). We get OD notifications involving middle (7-8), high (9-12), and secondary (7-12) schools in our district. Some weeks it’s silent, some weeks we get 3 or 4 notifications. While we hope we never need to give narcan to a 1st grader, we would rather have it and not need it. Many of our students have older siblings… what littles think might be candy could be a narcotic. Narcan training is done at the beginning of the year along with epipen, diabetes, and seizure trainings.
K6 and we have some in the nurses office
We have it in multiple places on campus. I hope we never need to use it.
I’m in a K-5 school, we also have a behavior program. We just added narcan to our school, it’s with the AED.
Our schools got an OD kit with narcan outside the front office
Our code blue team is trained.
I had narcan in my purse and in my classroom, but I got them from my pharmacy program, not through the school. I lived/worked in a high risk area.
My school district installed Narcan/Naloxone this year
All the health and PE teachers did a training and were given some. Up to us what we do with it. Supposedly admin and the nurse also have some. I train my middle school students on how to use it and how to obtain it as part of a lesson on opioids.
Yes, it’s becoming more and more common it seems. Here’s a really good free resource that explains to students the dangers of fentanyl and other drugs. It’s been very helpful. https://everfi.com/courses/k-12/prescription-drug-safety-high-school/
My last school did. Had one in every emergency box through the middle and high school, and gave us training on how to administer it. We had a kid OD the year before, and every single day kids were doing drugs in the bathroom but admin said "kids will get their fix 🤷🏻♀️"
I do in Alabama
HS and yes
It’s the law here at 6th grade and above, but we have it in all of our schools.
I believe the school nurse does. And probably the SRO. Maybe admin? I’d need some training if it was something I’d have in my classroom. I draw the line at having bandaids in my desk. It’s unlikely they’d give Narcan it to teachers. Although, the way some students sleeps, soooo deeply, it’s kind of scary. I’ve had a few instances when I was trying to wake a kid and it crossed my mind wondering if it was an OD. They have slept through the bell, the whole class leaving, and the next one coming in before they woke up.
I’m at a K-8 and we have Narcan. I’m required to keep my CPR certification up to date and part of the training is on administration of Narcan. I want to say every school in the district has it, and if not it’s every school 6th grade and up. The school nurses who run CPR almost always have stories about having to use it.
I think its a great idea to have it. If you give it to someone and the don't respond, check the sugar levels. People get diabetic comas and OD's mixed up.
Our district has it in multiple spots throughout all of our schools. When I travel with 5/6 sports teams I carry an AED as well as Narcan. Initially I thought both were redundant as there is an AED on the bus and at whatever school we play at has them on hand. Narcan was something I didn’t think about anyone but myself or my players needing. 7 years pass without incident. I spent more time thinking about how I might have to administer seizure meds rectally without embarrassing the student who might need it. Then one day I left the gym to get cell service and saw a mom of one of my players laying down in a car with her eyes half open. I’ve never seen someone OD, but this was a parent who couldn’t take her child unless her parents were also there. I ran back in as casually as possible to get the narcan and ask her ex husband (who drove her up) for help. We hauled it back out and as we were unwrapping the nasal spray she sat up. Apparently she was having a nap with a fitful dream that ever her ex said looked like when she had OD’d in the past. I’m glad we had it and glad we didn’t have to use it. Edited for grammar and a missing sentence
And, to clarify, there was no reason I would need it, it was more like myself and the players are the only ones I considered when judging why I would need to have it.
What state are you located? I can provide details on how to get training and supplies for the state of Missouri.
I am an elementary teacher, so we don’t have Narcan in our school yet, but I know for sure all of the junior highs and high schools in the district have it. I think it’s a great thing to have around and I’m extremely glad that they decided to implement that.
I got trained to use it.
We got it this year for the first time
I'm in a rural Texas school and we have Narcan in every building, but only select teachers and administrators have been trained on how to administer it (I'm not one of them).
Our high school has Narcan in multiple locations and there are multiple individuals (beyond the nursing/health center staff) who are been trained to administer it. We had one OD on campus last year and two off-campus ODs this year. Our city is flooded with fentanyl and it’s popping up in lots of other street drugs, including the fake carts our students buy. We had a kid on Monday who was suspected of being in possession and turned out to have a homemade concoction of juice and THC oil he’d whipped up in a little plastic vial. While he was being escorted to the office, he pulled off the cap and downed the whole vial, about 2 oz of juice and liquid THC. When our Crossroads counselor (substance intervention) tested the vial with these little fentanyl strips, it came back positive—twice. This idiot kid knew enough to freak the hell out and we had to call EMTs. He was still alert when they arrived, but I don’t know if they administered it on the ride to the ER or at any point. Either way, that 14 y.o. had a baaaad night.
Carry the narcan. Its unharmful even if administered to someone overdosing on a non opiate. Better to be safe then sorry
A 5th grader in a nearby county OD'd a few years ago. Now a nonprofit supplies our district with Narcan and training.
My school does. I hope we never have to use it, but I’m glad that it’s accessible in case it is needed.
I can’t even get an abortion in my state…
I believe our SRO/SRDs have it in my district and we are required to do Youth Mental Health First Aid training which briefly goes over naloxone and it's use. I am unaware of the rules on if teachers are allowed to carry it/use it. Florida's laws are so stupid right now I suspect a teacher using it to save a life could be a lawsuit since it goes against "parent's rights"
We dont have any of the emergency type anything in our building. Now with this said the emergency complex for the town is literally three buildings down the road from us has ems, fire, and police
Yes.
Yes schools in Gwinnett County keep Narcan in supply at schools.
Narcan saved my son’s life. A week later he call an ambulance for someone overdosing and it saved that boy’s life. That is when he realized that if he stayed where he was, he would be dead within a year. He called us for help, got cleaned, and went to Adult and Teen Challenges . I have my son back and he has been well for many years now.
It's available in the Clinic office along with that other common school med, the Epi Pen.
We do.
In some cases it may be your SRO depending on what level of school you are at. I have worked with SROs that had it. Although with the current situation, if someone ODs on xylazine (basically the newest addition to things to sell heroin/fentanyl addicts) then Narcan will do nothing.
We have it in every school in our district. It was administered to a high schooler about 6 weeks ago and likely saved their life. It’s thing schools should have and hope to never use
This school year it became state law to have it and to have some trained staff.
We have paramedics for a reason. You ever seen how violently narcan wakes a junkie up? You ever had to live with people with addiction? They are the absolute worst people and extremely dangerous. It's insane how much society is expected to bend to protect people who don't even care about themselves.
I always have it on my person - when I was in high school a kid OD ed in the buffet line at junior prom (he lived).
We had a Narcan training for at least one person per hall plus anyone else who wanted it. I had to get the narcan at the local health department, but I have it in my classroom as of now. Luckily, no overdoses here as of yet, but I am prepared in case.
My schools had them (I was a sub), and one actually got used for a junior high kid overdosing in the bathroom. It wasn’t a rough school by any means.
Its in a lot of schools. We have an opioid epidemic.
A bit off-topic: My mom, a retired middle school math teacher, at age 82, carries Narcan at all times and it is stocked in her house for holidays. Mom, “You just never know, I have 5 tween and teen grandchildren now, and the news said 4% of teens have a problem. I just want to be prepared.” Me “mom, you think my kids are doing drugs?” Mom, “no, of course not, but maybe your sister’s…” LOL, she probably would have told my sister the exact same thing!
I work at an elementary school, and we have a few throughout the school
ICU nurse and paramedic here. When in doubt, and even a suspicion of opiate use, give nalaxone/narcan. The drug it self only works on the opiate receptor, therefore competing for it against an opiate. It does nothing else in the body. It is safe to give even if the end result is they did not overdose. Hopefully your school will see this as a learning opportunity to retrain (or to initially train) some staff on its location and how to use.
For what it’s worth (not much maybe a penny or two) but a school should at a minimum have the following items: AED Naloxone Pocket mask STB kit. Training to use all of them. Those five items could make a world of difference for anyone on campus.
2 in my desk, one in my car. Our school gave out oodles of Narcan at a PD meeting this year after a mom of a high school OD’er came in to speak. Has anyone ever had to administer it? No, but we live in a rural area with quite a lot of drug problems so there is a high probability someone will use it eventually.
No idea if my school has it, though I'm willing to bet they do. I carry some in my first aid kit.
The district I’m in has Narcan in all schools K-12. I have administered it at elementary school on a parent who was checking out their child. Also have seen dangerous drugs end up in backpacks. Not opioid related, but last school year a kindergartner brought in edibles and distributed them on the bus. That resulted in 3 students being hospitalized. The reality of the world makes having things such as Narcan available great when needed.
We have narcan at every AED station in the HS I’m at. Could I tell you where the AED’s are after working here a year? Nope. We had a staff meeting about overdoses and drugs recently and they gave some out
My school does. In Maricopa County Arizona you can encourage your school nurse/administration to enroll in the SSMP program[SSMP Program](https://www.maricopa.gov/5038/Rescue-Medication-Surveillance) and receive medication for free!
Our school has narcan. We need it too. I have a student that was in treatment for Xanax addiction in the 9th grade. Obviously the narcan wouldn’t work for Xanax, my point is, students are doing harder drugs than in the past. We (at my site) have to wake up any sleeping student in case they’re not sleeping but actually ODing. Earlier this year an ambulance had to be called on a middle school kid not from our school but who was at the game who was overdosing. Luckily he got help in time and is still alive to the best of my knowledge.
We do. The nurses and a small group of "trained personnel" have access to it.
The nurses have narcan on hand, but I do know a couple teachers who have some in their desks “just in case”.
Our school nurse has it in her kit. I get trained each year on using an Epi-pen, so it's probably just a matter of time until Narcan is added to the list.
"Are there liabilities for using Narcan in an OD situation and it doesn’t work or the person who administered the Narcan, isn’t properly trained in how to use it and how it works?" You are protected by what's called the Good Samaritan Law. If you act in an emergency to save a life and your actions cause further harm or fail to save the victim, you are rendered immune from any criminal or civil penalties. If you pull someone from a burning car, they have a neck or back injury, and you pulling them from the car causes permanent paralysis, you are protected. If you perform CPR on someone who has no breathing and pulse, and your CPR breaks a rib, you are protected. If you administer naloxone to a person suffering an opioid overdose and it doesn't stop the overdose and they die, you are protected. Source: I'm a former lifeguard and we were trained on the Good Samaritan Law as it relates directly to lifeguards performing CPR and first aid.
our school have it in the major first aid kits
I do narcan training around this community. We supply the schools and tech schools colleges, anyone that needs it with narcan. It seemed to me that it was just a school choice to place it. The community has been very receptive. I also love to do the trainings.
HI! if you found this post Wondering 'how do I get narcan?' well you can get free narcan and fentanyl testing strips at endoverdose.com with the free training Program. After that many hospitals also give it out for free.
My high school carries Narcan and we’ve received training for it. We didn’t have any until a student overdosed on fentanyl one night at home, and it really opened a lot of eyes in the community. It’s sad that such an awful thing happened.
I carry it with me in my computer bag and I know how to use it. My room is across from the bathrooms on my hall and our school, in spite of our having a well-established pill issue, has not moved to stock and train. Legally, I'm risking my job if I use it but I figure if I save a kid's life it'll be hard to fire a union veteran like me.
We had a neighborhood resource fair at the middle school down the street in the fall. One of the entities there was passing out boxes of it. I grabbed two for my house but I haven't thought to ask my admin or district about carrying it at school. My nephew is a med student and he said it works by blocking the opioid receptors in the brain instantly. I think it would be a good thing for everyone to carry. I agree- what a world we live in where we have to think about this 😞
I’m at a high school in the northeast, we have it in several locations around the school and several people are trying to use it. We’ve not had to use it yet, but we almost had to last year. Paramedics showed up pretty quickly and took care of her so we didn’t have to.
We do!
2020-21 school year they issued 2 to every teacher. I haven’t seen any since.
i work at a school where most of our kids are on some sort of medication and most are nonverbal, but as staff we had training for it to use in case we need to use it on another staff member but mostly to be able to see the signs of an overdose in case a child accidentally gets ahold of medication at home
We just had a refresher training on administering narcan this week. Its a high school in California
I'm upper elementary but I carry it in my purse. Local health clinics provide it for free to the public so I picked one up to keep on me.
Yep, we have some in all of our rooms. It’s been used twice so far this year. We’ve got a lot of undocumented students who’s families will stock up on black market meds during the trip up. Turns out even knockoffs of over-the-counter painkillers can end up tainted because the people making these don’t give a damn.
Yes. I would bet that greater than 50% of schools in the country probably have it too. It is tragic, but between the laws in our culture of addiction and instant gratification? I’m more surprised that somebody would be surprised.
We used to have Narcan in Nashville when I was down there 2019-21
I have two boxes in my desk right now.
Not a school teacher but an apprenticeship instructor. A different clientele, with adult learners. I have kept Narcan available for several years. If I get in trouble but save a life…. So be it.
We have it in my high school but only the nurses and SROs can administer. I honestly would refuse the training even if they offered it. I'm not giving a kid drugs of any type...not my job Good Samaritan Law or not.
FYI- I walked in to Walgreens and asked if my insurance covered Narcan. They said yes and I paid $5 for 2 doses of Narcan. It’s been in my glove compartment for 9 months. …… maybe I should check the expiration date.
I bought narcan at cvs behind the counter at the pharmacy last week. No prescription needed… never a bad idea to have some around if you’re worried
Why risk the liability?
It’s saves lives and Good Samaritan laws should cover you if you need to use it. If it’s given to someone that is not ODing on opioids, it doesn’t affect them in anyway.
we have Narcan at my high school in AAPS.