On Sunday, Feb. 24, the Social Work Club sponsored a training for students on how to use Naloxone, or Narcan, a drug that temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The training was taught by Rick Skilliter, associate director of PASS (Prevention Awareness Support Services), an outreach and recovery branch of the mental health services in Lima. The training was conducted by PASS in conjunction with Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone), an Ohio Department of Health initiative.
The goal of the Project DAWN is building awareness and getting Narcan into the hands of “everyday citizens,” according to Skilliter.
“We do a lot of programming regarding drug and alcohol prevention,” said Skilliter. “We’re not an intervention program–we’re all about prevention and education.”
Social Work Club secretary and senior social work major Katie Spalding said the idea to host Narcan training on campus was a result of the Mental Health First Aid event held last semester.
The event started at 3 p.m., and included the viewing of a training DVD, a demonstration of how to put an unconscious person into recovery position and a time for students to use practice versions of the kits under Skilliter’s guidance. Each student in attendance received a Narcan kit.
“We’re trying to get those in the class to understand it’s much more than drug abuse,” said Skilliter. “Substance abuse disorder is far-reaching, the reasons are multifaceted why people develop substance abuse disorders, so the first thing is to identify, to get awareness to the forefront.”
But are the programs working? Skilliter said they have made a difference so far.
“We’ve had a great reduction in the number of deaths from 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018,” said Skilliter. “The numbers are almost in half.”
Rowena Zuercher, a junior double majoring in social work and Spanish, said she learned quite a bit from the event.
“I learned about the different uses for Narcan,” said Zuercher. “Of course how to administer it, and also the warning signs and symptoms of an overdose.”
With attitudes about drug use changing, program like Project DAWN are designed to help save lives and aid recovery. Skilliter said he hopes these events can continue to help those affected by substance abuse.
“We’re just happy to have the opportunity to meet with groups large and small to help them know how to respond in an emergency and have the tools available to them, and then provide them with that tool or those tools to hopefully reverse the effects of the opioid issue,” said Skilliter.
