Schools Aim To Carry Narcan

Schools Aim To Carry Narcan Students would also be asked about any drug use

Andrew Mansfield Reporter GARDNER  Gardner Public Schools are looking to follow the state trend of public facilities carrying Narcan, and are also moving toward screening students for drug and alcohol use. School Nurse Leader Becky McCaffrey recently made a presentation to the School Com­mittee about the district’s response to the opioid epidemic. She cited that as of November 2015, Gardner’s primary ambulance provider MedStar delivered 55 total doses of Narcan in the city, a commonly used antidote for opioid overdoses, in response to emergency calls. “This is becoming almost like a first line of defense,” she said. Superintendent Denise Clemons said the district, with funding from the Department of Public Health, will train its nurses to administer Narcan as well as provide drug screening to students this spring. Ms. McCaffrey said she wants Narcan to be available in all school nurse offices. She cited that the DPH has tracked an increase in fatal opioid overdoses over the past 15 years, from 338 across the state in 2000, to 1,089 in 2014, and an estimated 1,256 in 2015. With this increase, she said opioid overdoses has surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of injury-related deaths in the state. “It’s almost unfathomable how real it is. It’s everywhere. There’s not a mayor’s meeting I go to that it’s not brought up. I still haven’t wrapped my head around it,” said Mayor Mark Hawke. Ms. McCaffrey said having Narcan in each school nurse office would be relatively inexpensive, as there would be two kits per office, each costing about $50. Nurses would administer the drug nasally. “No one is going to abuse it. The only thing it’s going to do is reverse an overdose,” she said. While there have not been any overdose incidents among students to date, the idea is for Narcan to also be available for anyone who happens to be at a school and suffers an overdose, as public events are frequently held at the schools. The Gardner Community Action Team, a local group that aims to educate kids on substance abuse, has students fill out a youth survey annually. Ms. Clemons said results show more substance use than in the past. “We want to make sure we’re equipped in case of an emergency,” she said. In addition to carrying Narcan, Ms. McCaffrey said she wants the school to begin using the Screening, Brief Interventions, and Referral to Treatment, or SBIRT, protocol to help identify risky behavior among ninth-grade students. The protocol involves asking someone a series of questions about substance use in a one-on-one interview that if necessary leads to a discussion on how they can change their behaviors and seek treatment. The standard is for the results of SBIRT questions to remain confidential, unless the person interviewed is deemed to be a risk to themselves or others. Students or their parents could decide to opt out of the program, as Ms. McCaffrey said no one is forced to do the screening. The SBIRT protocol is nothing new, as it used across the country and the use of it in Massachusetts schools may soon become law anyway. State Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, D-Leominster, sponsored such a bill in October that passed the Senate, but hasn’t passed the House. It could become part of a larger opioid-related bill being debated this year. Additionally, Heywood Hospital has trained its staff to use the screening on patients. Ms. McCaffrey also said that implementing the SBIRT screening would be useful to find out about kids who are just starting to use drugs or alcohol, as the district would likely already know about students who have already been heavy users, and those students would theoretically be more likely to opt out of the screening. “It’s really about a conversation on what the person is or isn’t doing. It’s a motivational interview; the younger you do it the better, I think,” she said. Ms. Clemons said this spring, likely around March, is the time frame the district is aiming to start carrying Narcan and using SBIRT, with funding for training from the DPH. School Committee members showed support for the initiatives, as Melody Phelps told Ms. McCaffrey “it’s a really good thing you’re doing.” Robert Swartz said he appreciates nurses for taking on an increased role in providing medical care within the district.