MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Up until recently, Naloxone, also known as Narcan was only available to emergency service members.
Now with public access, local collaborations like the Marquette County Health Department and Superior Connections Recovery Community Organization have been making an effort to teach the public about the lifesaving medication with it’s ‘New Points’ educational sessions. On Wednesday, they hosted their first community-based New Points event at the Peter White Public Library.
“We’ve done a lot of trainings with local organizations and businesses that ask us to come and do trainings, but this is the first time that we’re holding a purely community based Naloxone training,” said Emily Pratt, a health educator with the MCHD.
As it’s widely known, Naloxone works as a rapid reverse to an opioid overdose, benign to everything else. Fred Groos is a retired physician at the Addiction Medicine Department of Upper Great Lakes Clinic. He says, since its over the counter approval by the FDA in 2023, drug fatalities have decreased dramatically.
“It can literally pull someone out of a coma from an opioid overdose, then all of the sudden they wake up and start breathing, so its very effective,” he said.
On Wednesday evening after a lesson covering its significance, the signs of an overdose, and how to administer the drug, each attendee was given their own emergency Naloxone kit. If you’re looking for your own, “NaloxyBoxy’s” can currently be found at NMU’s Wellbeing Center, with two more planned to be placed around the Marquette community.
“You never know when you’re going to get the opportunity to save a life,” said Superior Connections RCO Executive Director, Kimberly Offenbacher. “It would be amazing if everybody had one in their purse or on their body so they can take action.”
If you ever come across someone who’s experiencing from an opioid overdose and you have naloxone, the MCHD recommends to follow the overdose ABC’s. Administer the Naloxone, Begin rescue breathing every five seconds for around 3 minutes, and Call for help.
More information can be found by calling the Marquette County Health Department at (906) 464-0064 or Superior Connections Recovery at (906) 273-0294.
