Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Orange County Honored For Use Of Life Saving Drug <br />r3;r Joey DeVito <br />)ecember 8, 2015 at 12: 01 p? <br />-�` N °��xone for Lary Fnlorr�mmii �' � <br />e 'a <br />Orange County received the Excellence in Innovation Award from the North Carolina Association of <br />County Commissioners, on Monday night, for the Naloxone Project, which has saved the lives of four <br />people who have overdosed on opioids. <br />Officers across the county have started carrying naloxone kits, which help combat the effects of a heroin <br />overdose. <br />"With naloxone it's really neat because it builds a bridge," said Captain Chris Atack of the Carrboro Police <br />Department. "You basically have more time to get that person to medical facilities where they can bring <br />that person out of that danger." <br />He said it cost his department $700 to train and supply all of their officers. <br />During an opioid overdose, the brain tells the body to stop breathing. Sheriff Charles Blackwood said <br />naloxone starts the breathing process again, but in a way that is safe for both officers and the person <br />involved. <br />"When you have someone that may come out of an opioid overdose they're violent, often times very <br />violent, to the point you'd rather they go back to sleep" he said. "But sleep is death. This minimal dose will <br />allow you to start breathing again, but you don't come back in a combative state." <br />