The Broadway Emergency Squad is holding a free training for responding to an opioid overdose this Saturday. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
The emergency squad on Main Street in Broadway is offering the training from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 24th. The class is free, and available on a walk-in basis.
KRYSTAL FLICK: It's about five minutes long.
Krystal Flick is the squad's public relations officer.
FLICK: And we're partnering with the Central Shenandoah Health District to provide training on NARCAN usage, and how to give NARCAN in case of an overdose.
NARCAN, which is the brand name for the drug naloxone, is a medication administered through the nose that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose – whether the person took too much of an illicit opioid, such as heroin, or a prescription one, such as oxycodone.
FLICK: Maybe they took too much, and they have become unresponsive, and NARCAN kind of counteracts that medication.
After the five-minute class, patrons will get to take a box of NARCAN home with them. Flick said the emergency squad responds to a few overdoses each week, related to a variety of substances.
