Pubdate: Wed, 28 Dec 2016
Source: Surrey Leader (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Surrey Leader
Contact:  http://www.surreyleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1236
Author: Kevin Diakiw

SAVING LIVES ON THE STRIP

Doug Nickerson is never without a naloxone kit, which he says he has
used 113 times

He walks Surrey's notorious strip in Whalley, always carrying a
naloxone kit.

Having being saved five times from the life-saving naloxone, Doug
Nickerson now puts it to use for others he sees on Surrey's most
battle worn street.

"I don't go anywhere without a naloxone kit," said Nickerson. "I hang
a kit on my belt loop and away I go. Always have it."

He recalls some of the more prominent times he's put the kit to
use.

"I went to visit a friend one night and this couple went out and
bought some heroin," said Nickerson. "They came back, did it, and
overdosed simultaneously."

Nickerson also remembers bringing back 12 people during one
particularly bad weekend when he says fentanyl had been mixed with
crack cocaine. Another time he used naloxone to revive a 16 year old
girl who had overdosed.

Fifty-eight year old Nickerson, or "Little Doug" to the people who
know him, has reversed 113 overdoses using naloxone, and has himself
been given naloxone five times. Nickerson is a "peer", somebody with
lived experience who provides important perspectives on harm reduction
services delivered by the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC).

"He is one of the Harm Reduction Heroes of BC's Take Home Naloxone
Program," said Dr. Jane Buxton, program lead at the BCCDC. "He's just
there, with is kit, and when somebody says `he's overdosed' he's
administering (naloxone)."

Buxton said Nickerson is a great example of how the street community
looks after one another.

Nickerson was trained in how to administer naloxone at a time when he
needed it.

He is now homeless, and administers it to others.

Buxton said his refills, along with comments form the community in
Whalley, seem to indicate his claims of helping 113 people is accurate.

"People are aware that he has done this well over 100 times," Buxton
said. "He's one of those people with lived experience, who comes to
our meetings and gives us perspective to make sure we know what's
going on in the region."

The Take Home Naloxone program has seen exponential growth in recent
months. In 2013, the first full year of the program, 617 kits were
dispensed. So far in 2016, BCCDC has distributed 13,324 kits to
individuals who have been trained in overdose recognition and response.

Some weeks, as many as 2,500 kits are sent out the door to harm
reduction sites across the province.

"The Take Home Naloxone program is an important part of BC's response
to the opioid overdose crisis that has taken the lives of far too many
people," said Dr. Mark Tyndall, provincial executive director with the
BCCDC. "Work is also underway to improve access to treatments like
Suboxone and methadone, and to establish additional supervised
consumption services. A lot of work has been achieved and we know
there is still more to be done."

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Quick Facts: Take Home Naloxone Program

Established August 2012

Take Home Naloxone kits contain items including syringes, three
single-dose ampoules of naloxone, alcohol swabs, gloves, mask.

As of December 2016, the THN program distributes kits to 384 locations
across BC including: 56 First Nations 57 emergency departments 7
corrections facilities

18,703 naloxone kits dispensed since 2012.

16,464 people trained to administer naloxone since
2012.

The BC Centre for Disease Control, an agency of the Provincial Health
Services Authority, provides provincial and national leadership in
public health through surveillance, detection, treatment, prevention
and consultation services. The Centre provides both direct diagnostic
and treatment services for people with diseases of public health
importance and analytical and policy support to all levels of
government and health authorities.
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MAP posted-by: Matt