Alongside medicines to treat allergic reactions and asthma, an anti-overdose drug will be placed in all local school buildings starting next semester.
Naloxone reverses an overdose of an opiate-based drug — illegal ones, such as heroin, and legal ones that can be subject to abuse, such as morphine, codeine, methadone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, hydromorphone and burenorphone (Suboxone).
Until recently, the only “stock medication” allowed in schools by the Indiana Department of Education was auto-injectable epinephrine, used to treat allergic reactions, said school district nurse Holly Gordon.
Senate Enrolled Act 392, which took effect in July, allowed schools to stock albuterol and naloxone, too, if the district has a policy for their use. Albuterol is used to treat asthma attacks.
The school board took its first look at the new “policy for administration of emergency medication” Nov. 2 and passed it at the Nov. 16 meeting.
“What we are expecting is that an overdose might be more likely to happen, not necessarily from one of our students — it might — but more so from community members who might be attending our events,” Superintendent Laura Hammack told the school board. “We need to be prepared for that.”
The new policy will allow naloxone to be available at school buildings where public events are hosted, such as ballgames, she said.
Principals, assistant principals and athletics directors — the ones responsible for those events in those buildings — will be trained in how to administer the nasal spray version of naloxone, Hammack said.
Training was to start soon after the school board passed the new policy.
Brown County High School Athletic Director Mark Bruner said he’d never had a concern about a person at a sporting event before, but he’s willing to learn what to do if the need ever arose.
“As an educator, or working at a school, you’re just kind of here,” he said.
“I’m fine with it — anything we can do to help people out, as long as we can keep people alive.”
The school board, administrative team and School Safety Commission have all been “extremely supportive of the new policy,” Hammack and Gordon said in a joint statement.
“We take the responsibility of ensuring the health, safety, and security of our boys and girls as our absolute priority. In order to be responsive to those needs, we want to have, at the ready, anything to add to their health and wellness,” Hammack said.
For instance, the district added automated external defibrillators “when we knew that this could save a child’s life,” and staff are trained in the delivery of insulin, the statement said.
Hammack said to her knowledge, no suspected or actual opioid drug overdoses have occurred on school property within the last school year.
“However, with the increase in drug activity, we feel it is best to be proactive and prepare ourselves for the day that may happen,” she said.
In addition to how to administer naloxone, staff will be trained in how to recognize a life-threatening emergency. In a possible opioid overdose, those signs include decreased consciousness, pinpoint pupils, gurgling or choking noises, limp body, slow or stopped breathing or heart rate, blue lips and/or nail beds, and clammy skin, the district’s document says.
Procedure will be for the school employee to call 911, check for the signs of overdose, start CPR or rescue breaths and then give a dose of naloxone. Multiple doses might be needed to revive a victim.
Naloxone has no effect on people who don’t have opioids in their system, unless that person is allergic to naloxone or its components, which is rare, the policy states.
On a person who has taken opioids, the most common side effect of naloxone is the trigger of withdrawal symptoms such as increased heart rate, body aches, fever and irritability, the policy says.
Some, but not all of Brown County’s public safety agencies carry naloxone. The sheriff’s department, ambulances and some firefighter first responders have access to either the nasal spray or injectable versions; the Nashville Police Department does not carry it.
“We see the addition of having an anti-overdose medication as another line of defense in our ‘toolbox’ of life saving interventions,” Hammack said.
“We host many events with thousands of people in attendance, and this medication is an opportunity for us to be prepared for all of our patrons.”
