Naloxone

Jan

2023

WLEN Interview with LCMHA / Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition Coordinator Madeline DeMarco

Woman’s Voice: This special program is brought to you by the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. Guests provide information about upcoming events, resources available, and the many ways to help reduce substance use and promote a healthy Lenawee.

Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me tonight is Madeline DeMarco. And Madeline is the Community Outreach and Prevention Coordinator at Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority.

Madeline DeMarco: Alright!

Kathy Williams: Yay. We got it. We got it. So, Madeline, you know, you’re so involved in the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, LSAPC, and so, you know, we want to talk a little bit tonight about signs of overdose. You know, it’s unfortunately prevalent in our community that we’re seeing more people struggling with drugs and with overdose situations, and yet a lot of us might not know what to even look for. If somebody’s struggling, we might not know. So give us, give us some ideas of some things that we can look for.

Madeline DeMarco: We always like to use the acronym “BLUE” when we’re talking about signs of overdose that we’re looking for in our friends and neighbors and family members. And so BLUE stands for… the first letter “B” is for breathing, and so we’re looking for irregular or shallow breathing. Someone might not be breathing at all, or you might hear snoring or gurgling sounds coming from them.

Madeline DeMarco: The next letter “L” stands for lips, and we’re looking at the color of our lips and fingernails. So if someone is light-skinned, they might have a blue or purpleish tint. If they’re darker skinned, it might look a little bit gray on their fingernails or lips. And then “U” stands for unresponsive. And so that means if you give someone a sternal rub or you shake them or shout their name and they’re not responding, that’s that unresponsive piece.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Madeline DeMarco: And then the last. E stands for eyes and we’re looking for small pinpoint pupils. And all of these things add up to be what could be signs of an opioid overdose.

Kathy Williams: And that’s scary when you come across that. I, I would imagine, you know, cause you, like you said, you really don’t know what could be going on. Is it drugs? Is that a heart problem? Are they having a, a seizure? Are they, you know, going into some kind of diabetic problem? And so, you know, the first thing to do is probably call 911.

Madeline DeMarco: Absolutely. The first thing you always want to do anytime you come across the situation when someone might be unconscious or not breathing, is call 911. Get professional help there as soon as you can. The next thing that you can do is we recommend that everybody have access to Narcan. Narcan or Naloxone, you might hear it known as, is an amazing life-saving medication because it can reverse an opioid overdose. So, if someone is overdosed and they’re unconscious, you administer Narcan. It often comes in like a nasal spray or an injectable, like an EpiPen. And it’s literally like waking the dead. Where it will revive that person and get them conscious, get them breathing again, so that they can be more stable until help arrives. The other great thing about Narcan is that there are really no negative side effects. So if someone is just unconscious for another reason or not experiencing an opioid overdose, it’s not going to hurt them, it’s not going to harm them. So it’s safe to use in any situation.

Kathy Williams: That was going be the question I was going to ask is, you know what, if you give it to someone that’s not going through that? They are also making Narcan more available. Now I know, I believe all the law enforcement cars carry it. Of course you have different drop-in centers that have it, and, and it’s available to get at different kinds of events or informational things. Where can a person find out more information about maybe getting some Narcan?

Madeline DeMarco: We have a list of places you can get Narcan on the Prevention Coalition website.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Madeline DeMarco: That’s DrugPreventionLenawee.com. But it’s really available, like you said, in a lot of different places in our community. So groups like Community Mental Health or Pathways Recovery Engagement Center will do free Narcan trainings. So, they’ll teach you how to use Narcan for free and you’ll get your own kit that you can keep.

Kathy Willims: Okay.

Madeline DeMarco: There are also community events. Like Pathways has folks that go to First Fridays here in downtown Adrian, where you can get trained and get Narcan, and also second Fridays, which are held at the Adrian District Library during the wintertime on the second Friday of the month, where you can get trained. You can also access Narcan for free online. There’s a website called NextDistro. “Distro” like “distribution”. And you can go on and watch a quick video and put in your address and it’ll actually mail Narcan right to your door. So there’s a lot of free ways to get it in our community.

Kathy Williams: Yeah, that’s, you know, I mean, it’s one of those things where you hope you never need it, but might as well have it. Is there expiration dates on those or…?

Madeline DeMarco: Narcan is good for about two years.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Madeline DeMarco: And then we recommend that people replace it, store it in a cool place, that sort of thing. But that’s really quite a while, and I recommend that everybody has access to it. I know I like to give it to all of my friends, family members because you never know, even if someone has a surgery, you know, where they might be on some pain medication or something, it’s, it can be easy to, to accidentally overdose on something. And so it’s like having, you know, a defibrillator or a Band-Aid or something like that around, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Kathy Williams: Well that’s great. Well, I sure learned a lot and I know, I’m sure our listeners do too. We really appreciate your helping to educate us a little bit better on signs of overdose and on the Narcan system. Thanks, Madeline.

Madeline DeMarco: Thank you.

Woman’s Voice: The Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition supported by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Thank you for listening. New messages air on the second and fourth Monday each month at 6:15 PM. You can listen to this program as a podcast under the “on air audio” tab on WLEN.com and get more information at DrugPreventionLenawee.com.

Feb

2022

WLEN Interview with LCMHA / Pathways Engagement Center Program Coordinator Christy Brugger

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Woman’s Voice: The Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition is a diverse group of dedicated community members united around the goal of reducing substance use in Lenawee County. LSAPC members work collaboratively to engage and educate the community in order to promote a healthy Lenawee.

Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me on tonight’s program is Christy Brugger. And we are going to be talking about what to look for and what kind of action to take when there’s a possible opioid overdose happening. Christy, tell our listeners a little bit about you.

Christy Brugger: My name is Christy Brugger and I’m a member of the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. I also work for Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority as the Program Coordinator for Pathways Engagement Center.

Kathy Williams: So Christy, I know we keep statistical information on what’s going on in Lenawee County, as far as opioid overdoses. And you know, a lot of people might not even know what to look for. Sometimes this happens just out in public and takes people unaware. So, what kind of things are signs that there could be an opioid overdose happening?

Christy Brugger: So, signs would be blue or gray lips or fingers – if someone’s darker complected, their skin might look ashen; pinpoint pupils; deep snoring or gurgling noises; they could have slowed or no breathing at all; and have been going as being unresponsive to pain.

Kathy Williams: Okay. And I don’t understand the logic of people using opioids other than I know some people use it as a pain medication from a severe accident or whatever, but of course we want to be sure that we’re prepared should we run into someone that’s going through something like this. So, what kind of actions should we consider doing?

Christy Brugger: So, I think everyone should carry Narcan.

Kathy Williams: Wow.

Christy Brugger: That’s a very important piece because even if you do come upon somebody and think that they might be overdosing and you administer Narcan, it will not hurt them if that’s not the case for them.

Kathy Williams: Okay. That’s good to know. And there are places where you can get the Narcan at no additional cost too. I believe there was a handout not long ago.

Christy Brugger: Yes. So the day of HOPE…

Kathy Williams: Which will be coming up later this summer.

Christy Brugger: Yes. That was a big one. There were plenty of people from the community that day. I do know soon come there will be other events that I will be able to let you know about in the future where we will be training people to administer.

Kathy Williams: Okay. Oh, there you go. And cause it’s kind of similar to an Epipen, isn’t it? Only it’s nasal?

Christy Brugger: Yes. It’s yes, it’s actually quite simple.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Christy Brugger: Simple as that: one little spray in the nose and a couple of minutes later, a spray in the other nostril.

Kathy Williams: There you go. So I know there’s an acronym for action that you should take. Can you run us through that?

Christy Brugger: So the first one is arouse: it’s like the three S’s: you Shout their name, you want to Shake their shoulders, and it Sternal rub. So that’s when you realize if they’re unresponsive to pain or not. A sternal rub is simply taking your knuckles, putting it into somebody’s chest, rubbing vigorously up and down. That is painful. So most of the time people will arouse from that. The second is check for the signs of overdose, which we talked about, the, you know, the bluish lips and fingernails, the unresponsive pain, deep snoring… Third, you want to call 911.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Christy Brugger: And then fourth would be giving that Narcan, whether it be intermuscular or through the nose. You can next, you can start doing rescue breaths. You can give two breaths initially, and then maybe a breath every five seconds for about 30 seconds or even start CPR if you know how to do that, and then you want to repeat giving the Narcan again. So you would give the Narcan in one nostril and you’d give it a minute or two and you would give it in the other. And then you want to make sure that you put them in the safety, the recovery position, which is on their side.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Christy Brugger: And then it’s also really important to remember that Narcan only lasts for anywhere from 30 to 120 minutes, depending on how much the person has in their system. So if you find someone, it’s imperative that you call 911 because they can just, after 30 minutes they can go right back into overdosing again.

Kathy Williams: Even without administering more drugs, they could do that?

Christy Brugger: Yes.

Kathy Williams: So there you go. So you’re not done when you, when you’ve administered the Narcan, that’s just saved them temporarily.

Christy Brugger: Yes.

Kathy Williams: I did not realize that. Christy, you know, we talk a lot about how this particular epidemic has really grown nationwide. And so I know that there are support groups out there to help people that are having problems with opioid use or any kind of substance use. And of course they can always refer to the Lenawee Community Health, Mental Health for some help.

Christy Brugger: Yes.

Kathy Williams: And also for the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, they can get more information about overdose, opioid overdose and ways to take action on the DrugPreventionLenawee.com on that website.

Christy Brugger: Yes.

Kathy Williams: So lots of good information out there. Lots of ways that we can be more aware and help our, our neighbors and a family and friends to not have this be the end of their journey.

Christy Brugger: Absolutely.

Kathy Williams: Thanks so much, Christie. We appreciate you.

Christy Brugger: Thank you.

Woman’s Voice: Thank you for listening. This information has been provided by the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. Supported by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. New messages air on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:15 p.m. You can listen to this program as a podcast under the audio tab on WLEN.com and listen and gather more information at DrugPreventionLenawee.com.

Aug

2021

WLEN Interview with LCMHA / Pathways Engagement Center Program Manager Kellie Niese

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Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams. And with me on tonight’s program is Kellie Niese. We’re going to be talking about an upcoming event called the Day of HOPE that’s happening the end of August. And Kellie is the HRSA Recovery Coordinator, and so she’s been in charge of this huge event. And Kellie, I know it started out small, but it’s getting bigger…

Kellie Niese: It did. This all generated from work that I’m doing to get Narcan out and the community educated and get Narcan in their hands, where I thought I was going to set up a little table and hand it out downtown. And then I’m just overwhelmed with how many community partners wanted to be a part of this event. So, it’s turned into the Day of HOPE which stands for…

Kathy Williams: Health Ownership, Prevention, & Education.

Kellie Niese: Yes.

Kathy Williams: And so, you’re going to have all kinds of different booths there, different local organizations that are all promoting owning your own health and helping with prevention and education as far as drug and alcohol abuse.

Kellie Niese: That’s right, it’s addressing substance use disorder as well as behavioral health issues. And it really is a collaborative in our community where we’re working to promote overall individual wellness and tools for people and resources for people to help them be well. So things like Narcan, obviously that’s what started it all…

Kathy Williams: Right.

Kellie Niese: The Mobile Recovery Unit, which is literally what it sounds like – a mobile clinic to help people with health care needs as well as addiction needs. And they are going to be there for a meet and greet so you can kind of take a tour of the bus and meet them. WLEN is going to be there at the event so it should be fun. And we’re hoping to get other community partners like massage therapy, yoga instruction, anything that you can think of that promotes overall Wellness.

Kathy Williams: I think that’s great that a lot of the local businesses are also wanting to come on board, aside from the nonprofits. I mean, the nonprofits, we tend to help each other, we try to make sure that there’s not duplication of services, and things like that, but I think it’s going to be exciting to see the different local businesses that are going to participate that are promoting healthy lifestyles: healthy eating, healthy products that they sell, you know, all those kind of things.

Kellie Niese: Right, right. Because overall health is complicated and it takes a lot of factors to maintain your health. So, we want to kind of put that all on display for folks that may not know all of these opportunities and places are around in our community.

Kathy Williams: Yep.

Kellie Niese: So, for example, Pathways will be there, peer recovery coaches will be there – you can meet them, learn what they’re all about. And then we’ll have things like food trucks for people to eat and enjoy everyone’s company. So, I’m really excited about this coming up because I think, I feel like substance use is something that’s kind of put in the corners of the community sometimes. So, we’re putting it out there, shining light on it, and showing that there’s hope and that there is a pathway to wellness.

Kathy Williams: I think they’re going to find mind, body, spirit.

Kellie Niese: Yes.

Kathy Williams: We’re going to encompass the whole person in all the different levels of addiction that you might be in, and even for people that aren’t in an addiction position, but just need that little of bit extra compassion for whatever their journey is.

Kellie Niese: Right. The goal is to connect all the dots for people, right? And so even there, you know, CMH will be there with the e-Race: you can sign up for the e-Race the Stigma, which I think this event really does address stigma.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Kellie Niese: And again, lets people know that there’s hope out there which is the message we really want to put in our title and like extend to everyone that visits us.

Kathy Williams: That’s why it’s called a Day of HOPE.

Kellie Niese: That’s right!

Kathy Williams: So, the event itself then is happening August 31st, and Kellie, it will be going on from what, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. it looks like?

Kellie Niese: Right. 2 to 6.

Kathy Williams: How will they be able to find out additional information?

Kellie Niese: I just want to add that August 31st is National Overdose Awareness Day. So that’s really the, what started this whole event, is we wanted to acknowledge that. For people that are interested in coming to the event, you can contact customer service at CMH at 263-8905.

Kathy Williams: And you said that about the Overdose Day and that’s why the Narcan was so important…

Kellie Niese: Right.

Kathy Williams: That started the whole thing.

Kellie Niese: That started the whole thing.

Kathy Williams: Because that is an essential part sometimes for stopping deaths.

Kellie Niese: It’s absolutely life-saving. Life-saving. It can have an immediate impact and save someone’s life and give them hope of rehab and recovery.

Kathy Williams: Also, they can find updates at DrugPreventionLenawee.com on the LSAPC site. So, Kellie, appreciate your time, appreciate all the work you’re putting into the Day of Hope. And again, it’s August 31^st.

Kellie Niese: 2 to 6.

Kathy Williams: Thanks again.

Kellie Niese: Thank you.

Jul

2021

WLEN Interview with LCMHA / Pathways Engagement Center Program Manager Kellie Niese

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Woman’s Voice: The Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition is a diverse group of dedicated community members united around the goal of reducing substance use in Lenawee County. LSAPC members work collaboratively to engage and educate the community in order to promote a healthy Lenawee.

Kathy Williams: I’m Kathy Williams. And with me on tonight’s program is Kellie Niese. And Kellie is the program manager for Pathways Engagement Center and she’s also the recovery coordinator with the HRSA grant. Kellie, one of the things we want to talk about tonight, though is about Naloxone. Can you tell us what is Naloxone? How does it work? And why would we need it?

Kellie Niese: Okay, well those are all good questions. So, Naloxone is the long name for Narcan basically. And so some folks might be more familiar with Narcan in the sense that it is used by First Responders and every day folks to reverse an opiate overdose.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: Narcan you can get by prescription from your provider, but all these grants now in our community are funding free community education and distribution of Narcan. And Pathways Engagement Center peers are trained to do that education, and we also are providing people with free Narcan kits. So why would you need Narcan? Some people have an image in their head that it’s just for heroin use or people that overdose on illicit drugs. But actually, anyone that has prescribed opiates should probably have Narcan in their home. Even if you’ve taken a steady dose for years, sometimes your health condition can change and a normal dose can all of a sudden be metabolized differently.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: And you can have an oversensitive reaction. So having someone trained in how to use Narcan and having Narcan on hand can literally save a loved one’s life. Also, if you have it in your home and you have kids or anyone coming to visit, one of the number one ways people use drugs and kids use drugs is they find them in medicine cabinets. And so, if you have opiates in your home, or you have teenagers in your home, having Narcan on hand can save a life. And so what a great opportunity we have that we have this in our community that you can come by Pathways and get some free education and get a free kit. And we’ll also be doing Narcan education and distribution in the community. Our first event is August 31st in downtown Adrian at the Farmers Market.

Kathy Williams: Okay. So does Narcan have a shelf life, kind of like an EpiPen would or..?

Kellie Niese: It does. There’s an expiration date on the bottle, but essentially it’s good for 2-3 years.

Kathy Williams: Oh, okay.

Kellie Niese: And it comes in a nice kind of cooler kit that keeps it at room temperature because it can’t be exposed to really cold or hot temperatures. And the kit also comes with like a first aid mask, some instructions – just in case you forget how to use Narcan. But the cool thing about Narcan is it’s pretty benign. What I mean by that is if you administer it to someone that may not have an opiate overdose, and might’ve just collapsed, it’s not going to hurt them.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: It’s not going to hurt a child if they take it. And we have the kind that goes in just through a nose pump, just one quick nose pump through your nose.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: And literally can reverse an overdose within minutes.

Kathy Williams: So, you said again this is available at the Pathways Center. People can stop in anytime? Do they need to make an appointment or anything?

Kellie Niese: Nope, Pathways is open every day, Monday through Friday, 8 p.m. to 8 a.m….

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: And 24 hours over the weekend. We also have a phone number 920-4416 that you can reach a Peer Recovery Coach at after 8 p.m..

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: And they can talk to you about coming in and getting that, or answering any questions about substance use that you may have, or just be someone to talk to. But you can literally just drop in. You don’t need insurance, you don’t need any money, you just need an interest to learn and maybe a desire to save someone’s life one day.

Kathy Williams: That’s a wonderful desire to have.

Kellie Niese: Right.

Kathy Williams: We also want to talk a little bit about a training program you have coming up.

Kellie Niese: Right and so the HRSA grant is looking to expand Peer Recovery Coaches in our County. So, a lot of programs depend on Peer Recovery Coaches in substance use disorder treatment. Peer Coaches, what they do is talk to someone with addiction and help them get connected to treatment. And they’re so important, not only in therapy, but in clinics that have doctors that are doing medication-assisted treatment, in jails for example. They’re needed for a lot of volunteer programs in our community. So we’re providing this education for free. You can express interest in that by reaching out to me at kniese@lcmha.org and we can connect you with an application. And the training is normally around $1,500 a person.

Kathy Williams: Wow.

Kellie Niese: It’s a five-day training that comes with books and resources. All that’s provided for free, and then after you’re done we can connect you to the recovery community and kind of continue to mentor and develop that skill if you’re looking for a role, or a job, or profession in recovery coaching.

Kathy Williams: So, Kellie, it’s kniese@lcmha.org?

Kellie Niese: That’s correct.

Kathy Williams: Okay, I want to make sure we know how to spell “Niese”. So when is that training?

Kellie Niese: It’s the first week of August.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: It starts August 2^nd and that goes through to August 6^th.

Kathy Williams: So anyone who is interested in the training, I mean, check out what’s involved in it and then decide whether you want to go through with it or not. But lots of information available.

Kellie Niese: Right, anyone that’s been addicted to substances and is in recovery now and has a desire to give back and expand into a profession where they’re helping people on the other side. Which is a really awesome experience. And I’m really excited to offer it to our community

Kathy Williams: Well, we appreciate your time Kellie. And we hope that, you know, the community, I’m sure is gathering a lot of information about drugs and drug abuse and how to prevent overdoses and such. You’re a big part of it, so we appreciate you, Kellie. Thank you.

Kellie Niese: Thank you.

Woman’s Voice: Thank you for listening. This information has been provided by the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. New messages air on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:15 p.m. You can listen to this program as a podcast under the audio tab on WLEN.com and listen and gather more information at DrugPreventionLenawee.com.