Trending Topics

Colo. FD launches leave-behind Narcan program

The Colorado Springs Fire Department is using grant funding to purchase and place 500 Narcan kits on apparatus and be available to AMR

By O’Dell Isaac
The Gazette

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Colorado Springs Fire Department is launching an initiative that officials hope will help keep opioid overdoses from turning fatal.

The goal of the Narcan Leave Behind Project is to provide naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, to individuals who are most likely to witness or experience an overdose, said Stein Bronsky, the Fire Department’s medical director.

“This medication literally saves a life,” Bronsky said Monday. “We want this in the hands of everybody in the community that could possibly need it or want it.”

The department applied for, and received, more than 1,000 doses of the opiate antagonist through the Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund, initiated by a state Senate bill to provide eligible organizations with large quantities of Narcan at little or no cost.

CSFD used the one-time grant to make more than 500 “leave behind” kits, each with two doses of Narcan, for department vehicles and public health units. The department will also give some of the kits to American Medical Response, officials said.

According to the El Paso County coroner’s recently released annual report, 94% of drug-related deaths occurred before responders could get the patient to a hospital. The purpose of the Leave Behind Project is to supply at-risk residents with the means to immediately treat a suspected overdose.

“Opioid addiction is difficult to overcome,” Bronsky said. “Some people just need a little help and assistance, and this is one of the tools we can use.”

The growing fentanyl crisis in Colorado and across the U.S. is a multifaceted problem, and officials acknowledge that no single program is going to solve it. But with fentanyl-related deaths continuing to increase in El Paso County, any potential solution is worth a try.


The Vancouver Fire Department’s leave-behind program aims to reduce second overdoses among patients who initially refused treatment

“With the amount of fentanyl that we have circulating in our community, very small doses can stop someone from breathing and send them into arrest,” Bronsky said.

When a person stops breathing, the brain is deprived of oxygen and cells can begin to die within minutes, officials said. That’s why, when someone overdoses, every second counts.

“Time matters in a situation like this,” Bronsky said. “If someone is not breathing, we need to resuscitate them as soon as possible.”

The Narcan doses are simple to use, officials said. Just place the applicator into the nostril of the patient, and press the button to release the dose.

“It’s as easy to use as a nasal spray that you buy over the counter,” Bronsky said.

Also, Narcan does not produce harmful side effects. If it’s administered unnecessarily, it doesn’t hurt the patient.

“If it’s given, and it doesn’t need to be given, it causes no harm,” Bronsky said. “It’s a win-win for everybody.”

That’s why CSFD advises anyone who suspects an overdose to administer Narcan as soon as possible.

“We don’t want to wait,” Bronsky said. “If there’s any suspicion at all we want people to administer the Narcan.”

Fentanyl and alcohol-related deaths rise in El Paso County, coroner’s report shows

Although drug overdose deaths involving the potent synthetic opioid pain reliever fentanyl continue to increase in El Paso County, the six-year rate of rise seems to at least be flattening, according to the 2023 coroner’s report released Tuesday.

Near-fatal fentanyl overdose in El Paso County jail reported, 2 facing charges

Two men have been charged after one of them almost died from a fentanyl overdose that happened in El Paso County Jail last month.

On June 1, Tommy Mills, 45, was found unresponsive in his cell from a small amount of fentanyl, according to a release from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Mills was resuscitated after he was given multiple doses of Narcan.

Needle-exchange program in Colorado Springs stirs controversy, raises questions among public officials

Colorado Health Network’s needle exchange program in Colorado Springs has prompted questions about its operations, as elected officials have opposed proposals for such programs in the past.

(c)2024 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Visit The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at www.gazette.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Trending
Syracuse Officer Michael Jensen and Onondaga County Lt. Michael Hoosock were killed in a shooting during which the two agencies were unable to get on the same radio channel
The 9th annual What Paramedics Want survey wants to hear from medical first responders, EMTs and paramedics about their career satisfaction, health and wellness
Which of these viral TikTok fitness trends will you try next?
There is more than one way to make an impact on your friends’ and neighbors’ wellbeing