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.