County officials attend Narcan seminar

DAVE MOSIER/for the VW independent

Volunteers from the local Families of Addicts (FOA) chapter provided training for Van Wert County officials on opiate drug overdoses and administering Naloxone (Narcan) to opiate OD victims Thursday in the Van Wert County Probate-Juvenile Courtroom.

Shane Manson, co-director of the Van Wert FOA, welcomed approximately 50 officials to the training session and briefly talked about why he is a big proponent of Narcan.

“In 2015, I got a call at 2 o’clock in the afternoon; my daughter called me and said ‘dad, I’m hooked on heroin and I need help’ and I absolutely knew nothing of what to do,” Manson said, noting his daughter received Narcan five times after OD’ing in Lima and four times after his wife found her in a full-blown overdose in the doorway of their bathroom.

“I’m a huge proponent of Narcan,” Manson added, although he added that his daughter has now been in long-term sobriety for 5½ years.

While the FOA co-director explained that heroin isn’t as big of a problem as it once was in the local community, with methamphetamine now more popular with addicts, he added that Fentanyl is in nearly every drug combination now, and Narcan will work on it.

He commended officials for attending training on Narcan, as well as obtaining Narcan kits provided at the session, adding that drug addiction — and opiate and Fentanyl overdoses — can “happen to anyone.”

A 15-minute training video provided information on the signs of an overdose: 

• Unresponsiveness
• Slow or shallow breathing — or not breathing at all
• Choking, snoring, or gurgling sounds
• Blue, gray or ashen lips and fingernails
• Pale or clammy face
• Slow, erratic, or absent pulse
• Vomiting
• Seizures

It also gave information on what to do is someone is overdosing, and how to administer Narcan products, information on how to do “rescue breaths,” and the liability laws in Ohio related to administering Narcan.

Manson also noted that even though Narcan can stop an overdose, one dose may only last between 30 and 90 minutes — not long enough to completely eradicate the effects of an OD.

He stressed that anyone administering Narcan should be sure to call 9-1-1 as well. Manson said EMS squads typically have more, and stronger, Narcan products than are in the kits provided through the Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone) initiative, while hospitalization is often required to completely eliminate the effects of an overdose.

Ohio’s laws also provide limited liability to those administering Narcan if they also call 9-1-1.

He noted that the local FOA is a Project DAWN site, while more information, and additional Narcan kits can be accessed at www.odh.ohio.gov/projectdawn.

Manson said those receiving the kits on Thursday may never need to use them.

“I hope like heck you don’t have to use it, but if you o you might save someone you love,” he added.