UPDATE: The story has been updated to reflect the specific times that naloxone will be available in OHSU pediatric clinics this week.
Perhaps the only thing worse than watching someone die of an illicit drug overdose is knowing it could have been prevented.
When it involves a teenager with an entire lifetime of promise ahead, it’s especially tragic. With more than 100,000 Americans dying every year due to illicit drug overdoses, Oregon Health & Science University is reemphasizing the value of widespread distribution of life-saving naloxone in conjunction with International Overdose Awareness Day.
Many overdose deaths occur with bystanders nearby — meaning, lives could have been saved if a bystander had access to naloxone.
“It would be very traumatic if you see your friend overdose and potentially die, and you have no way to help them,” said OHSU clinical pharmacist Emily Skogrand, Pharm.D. “If you’re a parent and your kid is carrying naloxone, it will likely be used on someone else. You don’t know what other kids are getting into.”
A booth will be set up from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27, during the Farmers Market near OHSU’s South Waterfront Campus, west of Caruthers Park. Journalists are invited and should RSVP to Erik Robinson, OHSU media relations, at robineri@ohsu.edu or 971-373-3534 if they plan to attend.
A year ago, Oregon approved expanding access to overdose reversal medications by making them more readily available in public buildings, stores, police departments and schools. In the past year, the naloxone nasal spray has been made available as an over-the-counter nonprescription medication.
OHSU is stepping up access to naloxone this week by providing it free of charge within pediatric clinics at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Bethany Village all week. Hundreds of naloxone kits will be offered to families, thanks to CareOregon, a nonprofit organization that provides health insurance to low-income Oregonians.
“Pediatricians are saying more and more patients are coming to them and asking about it,” Skogrand said. “That’s great progress, because it means more people are carrying the lifesaving treatment.”
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Even though the overall rate of illicit drug use among teenagers is generally lower than in previous generations, more teenagers are dying than ever before. That’s largely due to the arrival of devastatingly potent fentanyl that has surged into the illicit drug supply over the past few years. Widespread distribution of naloxone is therefore more important than ever.
Skogrand makes a point of carrying naloxone the same as she carries her car keys or cell phone.
Benson High School medical director Nancy Zink, M.D., who is also an assistant professor of family medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine, keeps a supply of naloxone on hand for students at risk of encountering illicit substances at after-school gatherings or other venues off campus. Zink says she distributed about a dozen naloxone kits in the last school year, thanks to a partnership with OHSU’s Primary Care Clinic, Richmond.
“We screen everybody who comes to our clinic,” she said. “If they appear to be at risk, we offer them naloxone. In some cases, we may be the only health care provider they see and their only opportunity to have access to naloxone.
“Occasionally, we’ll have a student who says, ‘I gave it to my best friend. Can I have another one?’ That’s what we want to hear.”