BOH agenda 102616 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

“When you’re in an opioid overdose, seconds can count – you’re depriving your brain and body of oxygen, which is certainly a medical emergency,” Atack said. “If law enforcement arrives first, we want to be sure we can do everything possible to reverse the effects of this overdose quickly.” From 2009-2013, 161 drug overdoses occurred in Orange County. UNC Campus Health Services now stocks Naloxone, too. Stacy Shelp, spokesperson for the Orange County Health Department, said UNC’s pharmacy will begin to train the public to administer Naloxone on Oct. 12. Campus Health Services has also taken the initiative to spread awareness. Amy Sauls, the director of pharmacy for Campus Health Services, said the office began providing free Naloxone kits for students without a prescription one month ago. “It’s been a drug that we’ve kept here at Campus Health for a long time to reverse any kind of opioid overdose,” she said. “It’s been a drug that’s been around a long time and has been used in hospitals and clinics, but it’s just now in the last several years coming into the spectrum of public use.” Naloxone is often administered as an injection, but after students said they would prefer a nasal spray, Campus Health went with that option. Sauls said students can ask for a Naloxone kit at any time without questioning. “The main purpose is just to save a life,” she said. Under North Carolina’s Good Samaritan Law, people who witness an overdose can call 911 without risking prosecution against the witness or victim, although the law doesn’t provide immunity for every drug offense. Dean Blackburn, director of Student Wellness, said opiate abuse goes through increases and decreases every four to six years. He said Naloxone has an enormous number of advantages with no conceivable drawbacks. “There’s really no potential for abuse, misuse or misadministration of any kind,” he said. “So the risks are near zero and the benefits are tremendous.”