By Chris Hagan
Review Staff Writer
Beginning in the middle of October the Orion Township Fire Department will start carrying Naloxone, a medication designed to reverse the affects of certain drug overdoses.
The plan to carry it came down from the State of Michigan as a two-year experimental program to see the drug’s effectiveness. Every public safety agency in the state, regardless of medical licensure, is required to carry the drug beginning Wednesday, October 14.
‘It’s a three sunset clause on this trial run for the drug so we had a year to implement it and then it’ll be reviewed for two years,? Lieutenant and EMS Coordinator for Orion Township Fire Department Chris LaGerould said. ‘If this is a success the county and the state might look into administering other drugs to fire departments.?
Naloxone, which is the generic name for Narcan, reverses opiate narcotic medication overdoses, often from heroin.
The fire department will be given two vials of Naloxone for every licensed vehicle on the fleet. Once the drug is drawn into a syringe a misting cone tip called an atomizer is attached and inserted in the nose. When administered, the mist enters the nasal cavity and is absorbed into the body.
Naloxone works by binding more easily with receptors in the brain that are being occupied by the narcotic drug. Though the drug doesn’t reverse every kind of drug overdose, it does reverse the effects of many drugs seen in this area including heroin, Dilaudid, Vicodin, codeine and OxyCotin.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office rolled out pre-filled vials of Naloxone back in March to their deputies and have reported saving 12 lives.
Last month one of the lives were saved in Orion when a 26 year-old male overdosed on heroin and an OCSD deputy administered Naloxone, reversing the effects. But despite the success of the drug, LaGerould wants people to know that it’s not a cure all drug.
‘It’ll be a great tool for us and it’ll help Orion Township but it won’t jump start the heart if the heart stops beating,? he said. ‘The whole reason for the drug is that it reestablishes the respiratory drive so the patient starts breathing again.?
Although this a new drug for Orion Fire Department and Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, Naloxone is nothing new for paramedics as they’ve been carrying it for decades.
Orion Fire Department responds to all medical emergencies at a basic life support level as EMT’s. They transfer patient care to Star EMS who treat at an advanced life support level allowing them to start IV’s, administer more drugs, and interpret and treat issues seen on a heart monitor.
According to LaGerould, having the drug on hand for the fire department will be handy in the events when a Star EMS ambulance isn’t close by. Normally there are two Star ambulances in the township but there are instances when multiple calls come in and Star might be coming from an outside community.