Narcan Used To Save Tampa Man Twice In 24 Hours

TAMPA, FL — Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies saved the life of a Town N' Country man twice after the man overdosed two times over the weekend.

According to the sheriff's office, deputies responded at 10:44 p.m. Saturday to a home in the 8000 block of Frostwood Court, where relatives said a man in his 20s with an extensive history of opioid abuse had overdosed in his bedroom.

A deputy found the man unresponsive and with a rapidly declining pulse. The deputy administered Narcan, a medication that counteracts the effects of an opioid overdose, and performed CPR until Hillsborough County Fire Rescue arrived to transport him to AdventHealth Carrollwood.

Deputies were called back to the same home at 4:52 a.m. Sunday and found the man once again unresponsive in his bedroom. One deputy administered Narcan while a second performed CPR.

The man began breathing on his own and was able to walk when Hillsborough County Fire Rescue arrived.

Relatives said they had just brought the man home from the hospital after his first overdose when he overdosed a second time.

Deputies transported him to a drug treatment facility under the Marchman Act, a Florida law that allows a person to be involuntarily placed in a treatment facility for abusing alcohol or drugs.

In December, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister issued Narcan to every deputy.

“Our quick-thinking deputies allowed this individual to receive not just a second chance at life, but a third,” Chronister said. “While we are thankful that yet another family is not grieving the loss of a loved one due to an opioid overdose today, we as a community must take steps to break the cycle of addiction and help those who are caught up in this deadly epidemic.”