Overdose reversal: Push on high school nurses to carry Narca

earlier this year– the clinton foundation announced it is would give — for free — the drug narcan to any high school that wants to carry it. narcan is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. question is … do we need it on local campuses? abc-7’s denise olivas investigates… in a story you’ll see only on abc-7. 1:52-1:55 “it took me to a whole othe place, it took over everything, it took over my life” angie solis is nearly 7 months into “teen challenge,” faith-based rehab program in central el paso. addiction to presciption painkillers led years of heroin use. she it was the darkest time in her life– with many overdoses. 16:49- 16:59 “they had to slap me back t life they had to throw water on me trying to revive me because i was dead and it felt like everything in my body shut down” “in 2015, the national institut on drug abuse surveyed nearly 45- thousand high school seniors from both public and private schools. more than five percent admitted to using opioids many times because they’re easily accessible, often in medicine cabinets at home. angie tells me she was about that age when she first started experimenting” 26:23-26:26 “if you’re having any cares i the world it’s going to take it away but things turned ugly fast. 28:55 a drooling zombie, it’s ugly to say but that’s really what it looks like “nats of pills” 3:05-3:15 “i think there’s some pee pressure to do some of these things as well especially if it’s something that’s readily available” ellen bissette– the president for the texas school nurses association for region 19– says the state and national associations support the use of narcan in high schools. 9:31-9:35 “it’s safe, effective and relatively cost friendly” narcan now comes in a nasal spray– it reverses the effects of an overdose by essentially blocking the opioid receptors that many prescription painkillers target. the maker of narcan says it wants every high school in the u-s to be prepared. 2:40-2:49 “we don’t see a lot of it her in el paso, but we know it’s on its way to el paso because we can see it trending across the united states” the el paso county medical examiner’s office gave me the numbers of opioid- related deaths for the last four years. the youngest– in 2012: only 16 years old. 5:40-5:47 “marijuana, the ecstasy, th spice and the alcohol that’s really what we’re seeing in our high schools” john duran, a nurse administrator at the hospitals of providence says narcan in high schools can be a good idea, but only with extensive training. 6:40-6:46 “it’s going to have some side effects as well when you quickly reverse a medication such as an opioid” side effects similar to withdrawal … 7:33 “nausea vomiting, pain, delirium” 8:22-8:29 “most of the nurses at th campuses are all rn’s so that’s huge for el paso because that isn’t the case in all of the country” narcan in high schools– here in texas– is still available. it would need to be authorized by the state, and approved by local school districts. 7:52-7:59 “school nurse managers ar working on policy” 11:32-11:49 “if you have a student in front of you and you have narcan in your hand and ems has not arrived yet i think you’d be sorely tempted to use rather than to let that child expire… i don’t know if i could live with that” denise olivas, abc-7. “en voz alta” or “out loud” a el paso organization committed to helping children with hearing impairments. it provides support in the development– education and emotional growth of the children. abc-7’s jerry najera spoke with a family who’s been helped by en voz alta —