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Overdose antidote drug Naloxone makes its way to masses
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
It took a while to get going, but now that Kathy Parrilla of the Trumbull County Health Department has begun to train residents in use of the overdose-reversal drug Naloxone, she is determined to see it continue.
Parrilla, a public health nurse, said she has distributed 15 free Naloxone (also known as Narcan) kits during the first seven weeks of the program that started Jan. 1.
Nine of the kits went to family members and friends of drug addicts, and six to individuals who work with addicts, such as Glenbeigh treatment center in Niles; the Sahara Club, a sober club in Warren; and a sober house recovery facility.
She spends between 60 and 90 minutes with each person who comes in for a kit, showing them a DVD, explaining how to administer the drug with an atomizer that sprays the drug into the victim’s nostrils, and giving them other information about calling 911 and administering rescue breathing.
The people who have gotten the training for a loved one have demonstrated how important they feel it is, Parrilla said.
“They are thrilled that, God forbid, they can use it to save someone,” she said.
But just as significant to her, Parrilla said, is the outreach she’s been able to provide to those individuals — mothers, fathers, wives, grandparents — during her time with them.
It has been common for them to talk about the devastating effect their loved-one’s addiction has had on their family, she said. “When people open up and tell you, I just can’t imagine. They’re waiting to see if that person comes home. It must be horrible.”
Parrilla said she’s well aware that Trumbull County ranks high on the state’s list of overdose deaths and average number of pain pills being prescribed per person.
“That is so sad. It’s proving that there is so much more to be done,” she said, adding that she asks participants to write testimonials to indicate whether they feel the program has value, such as whether they have used it to save a life.
“By showing the results, we’ll be able to show that the program is needed and people want to see it continue,” she said.
The health department received a $6,550 grant from the Trumbull Health Foundation, a supporting organization of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, to buy 50 Naloxone kits.
The Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board provided the bag that holds the drug and atomizer and the DVD and flip-card instructions. The board also approved use of $4,287 to provide the Narcan for an additional 50 kits.
Parrilla hopes the kits will last through 2015 and that she will be able to secure additional funding to purchase more.
Trumbull County residents interested in obtaining a kit should call 330-675-2590, option 3. Addicts can receive a kit, but he or she must bring a family member or friend along, because the intent of the kit is to save someone’s life, and the individual overdosing frequently cannot administer it to himself or herself. Naloxone isn’t dangerous to someone who receives it, whether he or she is overdosing or not.
The Trumbull County Board of Health first announced in May that it had decided to pursue a Naloxone program. It took until November to secure funding.
Statistics from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services indicates that Trumbull County had a below-average rate of Naloxone use in 2013 compared with the state average, even though Naloxone is used by Trumbull County emergency-room and ambulance personnel on a regular basis.
Naloxone was used 10.5 times per 10,000 people on average across Ohio but only 6.5 times in Trumbull County. It was used 14.2 times per 10,000 residents in Mahoning County and 8.5 times in Columbiana County.
The Ohio Department of Health’s Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone) began in Portsmouth, Ohio, in July 2013 and has been expanded to include other counties.