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UNT Health Science Center’s SaferCare Texas held a workshop Tuesday to help people learn how to use Narcan. The FDA may approve Narcan for over-the-counter use to combat opioid overdoses.
The CDC says more than 106.699 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021. Of those, synthetic opioids like fentanyl made up the largest percentage with more than 70,000.
“We know there’s already a fentanyl and opioid crisis,” says Dr. Teresa Wagner, interim director of SaferCare Texas. “We’ve invited our students, our staff, our faculty and members of the community to come together because we know there’s an opioid crisis, not only in Texas but across the country.”
SaferCare Texas is a department within UNTHSC that focuses on patient safety.
“It’s aligned with SaferCare Texas’ mission which is to mitigate preventable harm,” Wagner says. “Many of these overdoses are accidental. It could be that you just had surgery, you’re taking opioids and you misdose them from a lack of understanding. It could be that you got the pill from a friend and either they didn’t know it was fentanyl, or it can be disguised as candy. We’re seeing it in younger people because they’re being passed around in school. You never know when you’ll be in the right place and right time to save someone’s life.”
The first station started with showing people how to give a dose of Narcan and lay the person on their side. The second showed people to call 911 and watch to make sure the person’s airway stays clear if they vomit.
“If they happen to recover from the first dose, they may start vomiting,” Wagner says. “You don’t want them to aspirate. That’s why laying them on their side is important.”
The third step is monitoring the person to see if they might need a second dose of Narcan before paramedics arrive.
In October, Texas launched its “One Pill Kills” campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the danger of fentanyl and synthetic opioids. The Drug Enforcement Administration says six in ten pills laced with fentanyl contain a lethal dose, and Abbott says fentanyl poisoning killed more than 1,700 people in Texas in 2021.
“Fentanyl remains the single deadliest drug threat our state and nation has ever encountered, killing four Texans every day,” Abbott said at the time.
Wagner, with SaferCare Texas, says the organization plans additional workshops on how to use Narcan as the drug becomes more widely available.
“Making sure people know how to use Narcan now that it’s going to be readily available is of utmost importance,” she says.
Details about SaferCare Texas are available at https://www.safercaretexas.org/
