PINE BLUFF -- First responders in this Delta city will get a new tool to fight opioid overdoses: naloxone.
The life-saving drug has gained widespread acceptance by police, fire, and emergency medical personnel as a method of reversing opioid overdoses.
By a unanimous vote Monday, the Pine Bluff City Council agreed to add the Fire Department to the city's naloxone policy.
Naloxone will be provided to the city under the terms of a grant from the Criminal Justice Institute that will supply first responders with naloxone kits -- also known by the brand name Narcan kits -- (the brand name of the drug naloxone) kits after the proper training is completed and the city shows its support for the program by adopting an ordinance governing its use.
The City Council approved an ordinance last month that named the Police Department to the city's Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines Manual for uniformed members. Passage of the ordinance Monday night places all uniformed first responders under the city's policy for use of the drug.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, naloxone is designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. It is an opioid antagonist -- meaning that it binds to opioid receptors and can reverse and block the effects of opiates. It can very quickly restore normal respiration to a person whose breathing has slowed or stopped as a result of overdosing with heroin or prescription opioid pain medications.
"We have now gotten these into the hands of our police and fire personnel and they are all fully prepared to administer naloxone as needed," said council member Win Trafford, chairman of the City Council Public Safety Committee and sponsor of the ordinance. "I believe it is imperative that we take these steps to protect people from the dangers of the adverse and potentially deadly effects of drug abuse."
Trafford noted that drug abuse can take many forms, not just illicit drug use, and he said people who are prescribed opiates for pain relief can also be at risk of overdose.
"We live in a world where you never know what's around the corner," he said. "You can be a person who is in a lot of pain where you take just a little extra to ease your pain and find yourself in a bad situation. For people in a different situation, this could be a wake-up call that could turn their life around, but whatever we as a city can do to protect our citizens, all of our citizens, that is what we need to do."
Fire Chief Shauwn Howell noted that passage of the ordinance was a final step in the requirements the city had to meet to obtain the kits, which he said will greatly enhance the emergency services' ability to deal with drug overdoses.
"This is a tool that we can use that comes as part of a grant, so there's no cost to the city," Howell said. "We had to include the police and fire departments separately through ordinances, and this is the final step we had to take now that everyone is trained in the use of these kits."
State Desk on 11/19/2019