Naloxone Administration Training

Are you interested in having SPTHB conduct a naloxone administration and opioid education training with your organization or department?  The FR-CARA grant staff are now scheduling and facilitating online naloxone administration trainings. If you are interested in scheduling one for your organization or department please fill out the training request by clicking the button:

Training Request Form

First Responder – Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Grant (FR-CARA)

The Southern Plains Tribal Health Board (SPTHB) was awarded the FR-CARA grant by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 2019 to help respond to the opioid epidemic. The overarching goal is to equip first responders and community members with naloxone nasal spray kits and provide trainings on how to administer naloxone to potential opioid overdose victims. SPTHB FR-CARA will focus on rural areas in Oklahoma including the following counties: Caddo, Kiowa, Bryan, Carter, Johnston, Pontotoc, Pottawatomi, Blaine, Custer, Washita, and Payne. If you would like to request a training, visit our “trainings” section here on our website and complete the training request form (note: trainings can be requested from within any county in Oklahoma).

Goals:

  1. Make a drug or device approved or cleared under the Food and Drug Administration for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose available to be carried and administered by first responders and members of other key community sectors.
  2. Train and provide resources for first responders and members of other key community sectors on carrying and administering a drug or device approved or cleared under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose.
  3. Train and provide resources for first responders and members of other key community sectors on safety around fentanyl, carfentanil, and other dangerous licit and illicit drugs to protect themselves from exposure to such drugs and respond appropriately when exposure occurs.
  4. Establish processes, protocols, and mechanisms for referral to appropriate treatment and recovery communities, which includes an outreach coordinator or team to connect individuals receiving opioid overdose reversal drugs to follow-up services.

Background:

Oklahoma carries a high burden of substance abuse consequences. In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that Oklahoma had higher rates of mortality and opioid use than the national average. Considering that nationally, deaths involving opioids have more than quadrupled since 1999, this shows extreme impact. Prescription opioid painkillers are four of the top five medications responsible for unintentional overdose deaths in our state. The epidemic also imposes substantial costs on state Medicaid programs and treatment centers, which are in short supply in our state. The pattern of drug overdose deaths in Oklahoma has changed considerably over the past 40 years. Prescription painkillers (opioids), rather than heroin, are now the most commonly involved drugs in unintentional overdose deaths. Oklahoma has considerably higher rates of nonmedical use of prescription drugs than the nation for all age groups as seen in the table below.

What are opioids and what are they for?

In the medical setting, opioids are a classification of drugs that are used to treat and reduce moderate to severe pain; however, they can have serious side effects and risks. Opioids can be both legal and illegal/illicit drugs (CDC).

Common legal opioid drugs that are prescribed to treat and reduce pain include oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab, Norco), morphine, codeine, hydromorphone, methadone, buprenorphine, and fentanyl. Illegal opioid drugs include heroin, opium, and illegally manufactured fentanyl (Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, CDC, Indian Health Service).

Pharmaceutical fentanyl is a synthetic (made by chemical synthesis to imitate a natural product) opioid pain reliever that is many times stronger than heroin, 50-100 times stronger than morphine, and is used to treat severe chronic pain (usually in cancer patients). Illegally manufactured fentanyl is on the rise and is being added to heroin and other illegal drugs.

Tips for individuals taking opioids or other prescription medication:

  • Take medications as the doctor prescribes them.
  • Never share, give away, or sell your medications.
  • Dispose of medications safely through a local disposal program (drop boxes). Visit obn.ok.gov Click here to find a disposal site near you.
  • Get an opioid overdose reversal medication such as naloxone. Click here to find out where to obtain free naloxone and other important information.
  • Safely store medications using a lock box, pouch, or another device that locks.

To learn more about opioids and ways to prevent an opioid overdose, get the SAMHSA Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit here.

Is your Tribe/Nation using the ODMAP application?

What is ODMAP? ODMAP stands for Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program. ODMAP provides near real-time suspected overdose surveillance data across jurisdictions to support public safety and public health efforts to mobilize an immediate response to a sudden increase, or spike in overdose events. It links first responders and relevant record management systems to a mapping tool to track overdoses to stimulate real-time response and strategic analysis across jurisdictions. To learn more about ODMAP and get your Tribe/Nation registered, visit their website here

Watch this short video that demonstrates how police departments and the mental health services in New York have implemented and benefited from utilizing the ODMAP application.

Naloxone is a medication that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent opioid overdose after taking drugs such as heroin, morphine, and oxycodone.

How does it work? Naloxone blocks opioid receptors in the brain, reversing the toxic effects of the overdose.

When should it be administered? Naloxone should be administered when an individual is showing signs of opioid overdose. The medication can be given by intranasal (through the nose) spray, intramuscular (into the muscle), subcutaneous (under the skin), or intravenous (into a vein or veins) injection. The most common form now is the Narcan® nasal spray kits.

How do you get it? A doctor can prescribe naloxone to patients who are in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) or considered at risk for opioid overdose. You can contact your doctor or pharmacist to go through the process to obtain a naloxone kit and you can visit here to find the closest pharmacy that may offer free kits. You can also participate in one of SPTHB’s naloxone administration trainings. Each individual who participates in a training will receive a free Narcan® nasal kit and other opioid-safe storage and disposal resources. To find out where and when the next training is, contact Rachel Davis at rdavis@spthb.org or 918-839-0936. Candidates for naloxone are those who

  • Take high doses of opioids for long-term management of chronic pain
  • Receive rotating opioid medication regimens
  • Have been discharged from emergency medical care following opioid poisoning or intoxication
  • Take certain extended-release or long-acting opioid medications
  • Are completing mandatory opioid detoxification or abstinence programs

Naloxone is effective if opioids are misused in combination with other sedatives or stimulants. It is not effective in treating overdoses of benzodiazepines (depressants or tranquilizers) or stimulant overdoses involving cocaine and amphetamines (type of stimulant).

Sources:

www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/treatment/naloxone

www.okimready.org/overdose/

Fentanyl is a synthetic (made by chemical synthesis to imitate a natural product) opioid pain reliever that is typically used to treat severe chronic pain, such as in cancer patients. Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is usually prescribed in lozenge or patch form. According to law enforcement, illegally made fentanyl (IMF) is the primary cause of the majority of fentanyl-related harm and overdose. IMF is sold through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like feeling and is mixed with heroin, cocaine, and other drugs, typically, without the user knowing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/opioids/fentanyl.html

www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/fentanyl/risk.html (First Responders)

To request an in-person Naloxone Administration Training, please contact project coordinator Rachel Davis: rdavis@spthb.org; 918-839-0936.

Project Coordinator
Rachel Davis
Email: rdavis@spthb.org
Phone: (918) 839-0936

Project Manager
Aron Wahkinney
Email: awahkinney@spthb.org
Phone: (405) 652-9204