The opioid overdose treatment NARCAN is now available across Ector County ISD campuses and there are more than 100 people trained now.
Those who have been trained are nurses, administrators, first responders and other certain staff. They have used NARCAN twice since it was implemented.
“We have trained all of the Nursing and Health Services staff and are slowly adding first responders and those who would like to be trained. Also, our police officers have already been trained. We have used NARCAN twice since the implementation,” Health Services Director Rebecca Rhodes said in an email.
ECISD Police Chief Jeff Daniels said they have seen more overdoses in the public than on campuses. He added that having it throughout the district is a huge benefit to students and staff to have it there.
“We have a society that has fentanyl in it and so we need to be prepared in case we come across those emergencies to be able to help those that are in need,” Daniels said.
He added that the fentanyl that’s really dangerous to students is what’s coming across the border because it’s made by the cartels, it’s unregulated and not produced in a legitimate lab. Most likely it’s made in Mexico, but it could be another location overseas.
In a shipment of 1,000 pills, 999 may be OK, but there could be just one pill that has too much in it. He said they see it in pill form.
“Unfortunately, we see it in our society and fentanyl poisoning, it’s really a one-way street if you get it. There’s not much help unless you have NARCAN on site to … save you,” Daniels said.
He added that his officers have carried NARCAN for three to four years. From what he has seen, everyone is on board with being trained to use it.
“It’s just one of those tools that you can give them to better equip them to protect our kids and I think everybody was on board for that and excited to get more of it. There’s only so many of us out there and there are so many schools, but this now puts it on every campus,” Daniels said.
He added that a lot of agencies have gotten away from testing narcotics in the field because it can be toxic if you handle it with your bare hands. Daniels said there is field testing for marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines. Depending on what it looks like, they may not test it because it could be fentanyl.
“We’ll file the charge, send it to the court and let them send it to the lab to be tested. It’s a process,” Daniels said. “It’s a very dangerous drug.”
Rhodes said there are times when NARCAN is harder to get, like at the beginning of the school year and last summer. The antidote was obtained through a grant from More Narcan Please.
She was only able to get 48 boxes initially, but she was also able to get it from PermiaCare.
“I can only get so many at a time, but I can get it from several different places,” Rhodes said.
There are two doses in a box. It is administered through the nose.
“It’s super easy,” Rhodes said.
She added that people bought in to the importance of having NARCAN available. It is also in most nurses’ emergency to-go bags.
Although there haven’t been a lot of occasions to use NARCAN on campuses, Rhodes said there’s always that risk. A student could take something in the morning and it could take effect a couple of hours later.
“It’s not always an immediate (effect) so sometimes it can take a little while,” she added.
Anybody who takes an opioid, whether it’s prescribed or illicit, can have an overdose, Rhodes said.
“So it’s available for everyone,” she added.
Rhodes noted that it’s important that the district has taken this step.
“It could save somebody’s life. In a risk-benefit scenario … I think it’s super important because the benefit way outweighs the risk of not having it,” she added.
At some point, she could see students, especially seniors, being trained to administer NARCAN.
“I had some discussions with some of my nurses about doing that with our seniors, just giving them a quick rundown on how to get it, especially now that it’s becoming more available because the FDA approved it to be over the counter,” Rhodes said.
