FDL Fire Dept Administers Narcan Record Number Of Times In 2013

Fond du Lac Fire Department officials say they
administered Narcan a record 79 times in 2013. Assistant Fire Chief Todd
Janquart says that was up from 65 times in 2012. He notes of the 79 times it was
administered last year, 37 times was for drug overdoses. Thirteen times it
resulted in saves. Four times patients died from heroin overdoses. Janquart says
when compiling the data they were pretty shocked at the number of times they had
to administer Narcan last year. He says they wanted to share the information
with the public to let them know some of the issues they deal with. Fire Chief
Peter O’Leary says Narcan allows them to reverse the effects of an overdose long
enough to get them to the hospital for more advanced care. The State Legislature
is considering allowing more people with a minimum amount of training to
administer Narcan for opiate overdoses like heroin and hydrocodone. The State
Assembly last month passed a package of bills designed to reduce heroin and
opiate deaths. The State Senate takes that up next week. Janquart says from the
numbers they compiled on how many times their paramedics administered Narcan
they know there’s a problem in the community.