Grant County Health District receives grant to increase distribution of Narcan

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Health District officials are hoping to get a medication that helps fight narcotics overdoses into the hands of more people, with the aid of a grant from the North Central Accountable Community of Health.

Mariah DeLeon, GCHD Harm Reduction Program coordinator, said the grant will provide Narcan kits, along with training in how to use them.

“Our goal is to supply people who use drugs, or people who are affected by people who use drugs, with Narcan. Our goal is to get Narcan embedded into the community,” DeLeon said.

Narcan inhibits the effect of an opioid overdose, she said.

“It’s what we call an antagonist,” said Moses Lake Fire Department EMS Chief Todd Schanze. “It competes with receptor sites of opiates. It’s a stronger draw to (opiates), so it will go in there and block those sites and keep the opiate from attaching to them.

“It’s kind of like a key that goes into the lock and prevents any other key from getting into that lock,” he added.

“It will reverse the overdose, so that the opioids are no longer on the brain,” DeLeon said.

But the drug’s effectiveness is limited to opioids.

“It only works for opioids, such as fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone; it only works on those types of substances. Or drugs that are laced with opioids. It will not work on anything else,” she said.

DeLeon cited the example of an overdose where cocaine was laced with fentanyl.

“Narcan will be able to get them out of the overdose, because it was laced with fentanyl, but it won’t help with the symptoms that come from cocaine,” she said.

Schanze said the Narcan kits can get the drug into the user’s system very quickly.

“We’ve had cases over the past several years where people have given the home Narcan to the patient before we got on scene and (the patient was) talking when we got there,” Schanze said. “It gets the medication on board quicker than they would if they had to wait for us to show up.”

Narcan has become harder to find and more expensive for ambulance services to obtain, Schanze said.

“Having it out there in the public, where other people are using it, will actually help us,” Schanze said.

Moses Lake Police Chief Kevin Fuhr said MLPD officer have used it to good effect.

"Every officer is issued two doses of Narcan and we have used it several times on overdose patients," Fuhr wrote in response to a question.

The GCHD program also focuses on connecting people with resources that can help them kick the habit and get back their lives.

“We want to provide everyone with the chance. We want to connect people to recovery and get them connected to social services,” she said. “We really just want to let them know we’re here as a support.”

The money allows GCHD to work with other agencies such as HopeSource and Renew (Grant County’s mental health agency) to connect their clients to resources that can help them fight addiction. There’s also money to provide blankets and scarves, coats and hats to homeless people during the winter.

“Give them the tools and supplies to keep them safe during the winter, to keep them protected,” she said. “When they’re living on the streets, it can be cold outside. So we’re providing people with those supplies as well.”

Not everyone may be ready to enter treatment, she said, but GCHD wants the resources to be available when they are.

“Every time we meet them, we’re letting them know, ‘Hey, these are the services. Are you ready to quit?’ If they’re not they’re not, but if they are, we’re the connection to get them into recovery,” she said. “So our goal is to connect people with their recovery and meet them where they’re at.”

Narcan and training in how to use it is available county-wide, she said.

“If anyone in the community is interested, they’re more than welcome to reach out to the Grant County Health District and we will get them connected,” DeLeon said.

Narcan comes in two forms, as a nasal spray and in injectable form. In both cases, the first dose is administered, followed by a second dose about three minutes later if the first dose isn’t showing results.

“They’re both the same. They both work the same. They’re both the same dosages,” DeLeon said.

“Our goal is to provide people with the best services and the best equipment to keep themselves safe and to give themselves the chance to enter recovery,” she said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.