Suffolk County To Hold Opioid Overdose Prevention Trainings

As the growing epidemic of opioid abuse sweeps across the country, Suffolk has been named as the leading county in the state for heroin overdoses.

As a part of efforts to fight back against this rising tide of tragedy, county officials are offering classes to train residents in the use of Narcan, a drug that can counteract and prevent overdoses for people in immediate danger.

Read more: Suffolk Leads State in Heroin Overdose Deaths: Heartbroken Mom Shares Pain at Losing Son to Epidemic

Narcan, also known as naloxone, has been around for many years, but it's only recently been developed in a form that can be safely administered by people who are not medical professionals. While the original form was administered intravenously, the new version can be delivered nasally, making the treatment much less invasive.

Because of the ease with which it can be delivered, experts recommend that most everyone can be trained to effectively use Narcan to save lives. Even if you think you're unlikely to encounter someone overdosing on heroin, remember: painkillers and opioids in other forms are also common and may be ingested by accident, especially by children. So you never know when being trained in using Narcan could come in handy.

And it's an especially safe form of treatment. If somone who isn't overdosing receives a burst of Narcan, it will have no adverse effects.

But because it's still a prescription drug, the training is necessary to certify people in its use.

"We don't care what your motivation is [for taking the training]," said Robert Delagi, Director of Suffolk County EMS and Public Health Emergency Preparedness. "You may be a substance abuser, you may be the family of a substance abuser, you may be in a capacity to come across somebody who is overdosing, and we don't care, we don't ask, it does not matter."

Attendees will walk away with a blue bag containing two doses Narcan, free of charge, along with some light supplies.

Trainings will be held in West Babylon on Thursday, July 14, and in Hauppauge on July 18, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The West Babylon training will be at the fire department at 126 Arnold Avenue, and attendees can call Legislator Kevin McCaffrey’s office at 631-854-1100 to RSVP. The Hauppauge training will be the Suffolk County Deparment of Health Services at 725 Veterans Highway in building C-928, and attendees can RSVP to Wanda Ortiz at <wanda.ortiz@suffolkcountyny.gov> or 631-853-4017.

• Click here for more information about the trainings.

Delagi appeared in a video promoting the training, shown below:

Photo credit: Tom Wolf via Flickr