Pubdate: Wed, 20 Aug 2014
Source: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)
Copyright: 2014 The Daily Herald Company
Contact:  http://www.dailyherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/107
Author: James Fuller

POLICE IN KANE COUNTY DAYS AWAY FROM GETTING OVERDOSE DRUG

Hundreds of police officers in nearly 30 Kane County law enforcement
agencies by early September will begin carrying a drug that can
reverse heroin overdoses, causing county officials to begin finding
ways to pay for the drug over the long term.

Representatives from area police departments received training through
the county at the end of July. Officers who completed the training
have been educating their peers the past few weeks in preparation for
actually carrying the drug this fall.

Each officer trained in administering the drug, known commercially as
Narcan, will carry two doses in the form of a nasal spray. The drug
acts by blocking receptors in the brain that opiates, such as heroin,
Codeine, Vicodin and OxyContin, attach to. Narcan has no ability to
reverse overdoses of non-opiates, such as cocaine.

A two-dose pack of Narcan costs about $35. Local EMTs and paramedics
have long used the drug, but they are supplied through local
hospitals. For now, the Kane County Health Department is supplying the
drug to local police.

"The cost is not that expensive, and the medication does have a shelf
life of two years," said Barb Jeffers, the executive director of Kane
County's Public Health Department. "But we're going to have to look at
the long term and what do we need to do to support this."

The costs may prove to be fairly low depending on how often police
officers use the drug.

While police in neighboring counties have made headlines saving lives
with the drug on a couple of occasions, Jeffers said she is not aware
of any officers in Kane County using the drug yet. Kane County
sheriff's deputies began carrying Narcan earlier this year.

The first year of using the drug should reveal the future
need.

Every time an officer administers Narcan, he or she must report the
use to the county health department to receive a replacement. State
health officials will also keep a registry of every officer trained to
use the drug, Jeffers said.  
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