Recently Roseville Police officers began carrying naloxone, a
life-saving drug for people suffering from an overdose of opioid drugs.
The Roseville Police Department received the naloxone kits through a
partnership with the Placer Nevada County Medical Society as part of a
$50,000 grant from the California Health Care Foundation.
The
United States is experiencing an epidemic of opioid addiction.
According to the National Institute of Health, deaths in the U.S. from
opioid overdoses, including prescription narcotic painkillers and
heroin, jumped from around 12,000 in 2002 to about 33,000 in 2015. In
Placer County, annual drug-poisoning deaths doubled from six in 2002 to
twelve in 2014. Fortunately, there are steps first responders can take
to prevent some of these deaths. The opioid antagonist naloxone is an
easily administered drug that acts within minutes to restore breathing
if administered quickly enough after an opioid overdose.
Roseville
Fire paramedics have carried naloxone in the field for many years. In a
recently tracked two-year period, either Roseville Fire or ambulance
company medics administered naloxone to 89 overdose patients in
Roseville and saw respiratory improvement. In order to save more lives,
the State of California enacted laws allowing local health authorities
to issue prescriptions for certain trained lay people, such as family
members of opioid users and law enforcement officers, to carry and
administer naloxone when an overdose is suspected. Naloxone lends
itself well to administration by lay people—it’s available as a nasal
spray, and it only works on opioid overdoses. If the patient is having
another medical issue, the drug won’t have an effect, but it also won’t
harm them.
Although the Roseville Fire Department has excellent
response times to medical emergencies, Roseville Police officers may
sometimes be the first on the scene of an overdose. The Roseville
Police Department has partnered with the Placer Nevada County Medical
Society’s Opioid Safety Coalition to secure grant funding and initiate a
pilot project to provide naloxone to its officers. Roseville PD is
joining a short list of California law enforcement agencies that carry
this lifesaving medication.
Anyone who wants help with drug
addiction, or family members who may want to obtain a prescription for
naloxone for a loved one at risk for overdose should contact their
healthcare provider. Placer County also offers free walk-in screening
clinics for people struggling with substance abuse issues, and concerned
family members and friends.
Placer County walk-in substance abuse screening clinic times and locations:
• Monday 10 am to 11 am, 101 Cirby Hills Drive, Roseville, CA
• Tuesday 1 pm to 2 pm, 11522 B Avenue, Auburn, CA
• Wednesday 1 pm to 2 pm, 10810 Justice Center Drive, Roseville, CA
• Thursday 4 pm to 5 pm, 101 Cirby Hills Drive, Roseville, CA
• Friday 10 am to 11 am, 11522 B Avenue, Auburn, CA