Colerain police to carry Narcan to reverse heroin overdose

Colerain Township is taking another step in its assault on heroin abuse, putting Narcan in its police cruisers this week.

Narcan, or Naloxone, offers immediate help by restoring breathing for anyone overdosing from the use of an opiate pain medicine such as OxyContin or heroin.

Dan Meloy, Colerain Township public safety director, says the police and fire department collaborated to make the drug more available to first responders. All police officers have been trained how to administer the nasal spray so they can administer immediate assistance while waiting for emergency medical personnel to arrive. The program starts Sept. 4.

Narcan acts in two to five minutes, restoring breathing stopped by the overdose. It wears off typically in 30 to 90 minutes, and the person can stop breathing again without additional Narcan or medical intervention.

Colerain Fire Capt. Will Mueller assembled kits for the police officers and helped with officer training. In addition to the nasal Narcan, the kit includes gloves and a CPR mask to keep officers who offer assistance safe from possible infection. Meloy said the Narcan in the police cruisers is stocked from the fire department’s inventory and the new initiative will be at no additional cost to the township.

Meloy says this initiative is the latest step in the township’s efforts to address the public health problem of opiate overdose and abuse. The township’s Quick Response Team, which includes a police officer, a member of the fire department and a licensed abuse counselor, follows up on any overdose incident handled by the township’s emergency medical personnel to offer assistance and guidance to the patient to encourage long-term recovery.

The Colerain Community for Healthy Awareness group has a community action plan, formed as part of the Hamilton County Health District’s We Thrive program, to address the opioid epidemic. Key action steps taken thus far include a resource packet that is distributed to people treated for opioid overdose and family members by township EMS personnel.

Other action steps include the Quick Response Team, followup by the Addiction Services Council, changing the internal culture of the police and fire department to a “treatment and recovery” mindset rather than “respond and arrest,” and canvassing neighborhoods in the township to hand out recovery resource packets and listen to residents.

Colerain Police Lt. Jennifer Sharp says people in the community are reaching back.

“When we did our first neighborhood canvass, we had five people respond to the brochure and they are all in treatment,” she said. “There are so many people affected by this, whether directly or indirectly.”

Meloy said the impact of the CCHA is just beginning, and he predicts the group will continue to find innovative ways to address the opioid crisis.

“This group is making a difference because its members are willing to think differently and find ways to get things done,” Meloy said.