Schools begin to stock Narcan
An 11-year-old died of a heroin overdose two years ago in Washington County, proving that the drug problem crosses all boundaries, the Washington County district attorney’s office said.
The unprecedented increase in the rate of deadly heroin overdoses has prompted the state Department of Education to encourage school districts across Pennsylvania to store and administer the drug overdose antidote known as naloxone or Narcan as a life-saving measure, a department memo indicates.
“We’re going to put it in our high school through our police officers,” Ringgold Superintendent Karen Polkabla said.
Polkabla said she discussed the overdose antidote with school directors Sept. 18 because she was concerned then about whether school nurses could administer Narcan without parental approval. Two days later, the Education Department answered her question in the memo, which stated such permission is unnecessary under a state law enacted last year.
The Education Department further stated it would help any school district in need of direction in stocking Narcan because of the fact that nearly everyone could be vulnerable to addiction.
“While not required, these actions demonstrate a significant and commendable commitment to the health and well-being of students and all Pennsylvanians,” the letter to education leaders states.
Charleroi Area School District also will stock Narcan in the nasal spray form at its high school, following the recommendation of the state, district Superintendent Ed Zelich said.
”I think we’re being proactive,” Zelich said. “There are no barriers to heroin. It could happen to anyone. All lives are worth saving.”
Zelich said there has never been an overdose in Charleroi schools.
The concerns go further than students and staff, though, because it’s possible for a person attending an event such as a high school basketball game to become a victim of a heroin overdose, Polkabla said.
There were 38 drug overdose deaths in Washington County between January and July, 23 of which were attributed to heroin or heroin combined with other opioids, according to records kept by the Washington County coroner’s office. One of those deaths involved someone who was between the ages of 10 and 19.
“It’s unbelievable how many people are overdosing,” Polkabla said.
There were 36 drug overdose deaths last year in Washington County and 10 in Greene County.
West Greene Superintendent Thelma Szarell said they have received preliminary information on the subject from the state and are “very early” in the process of reviewing the policy and procedures.
“We would (consider it) because even though we haven’t had to deal with it recently, we know that with some of our recent graduates, there’s been some (overdose) fatalities,” Szarell said. “We would be interested, but honestly, we haven’t had any serious movement in that direction yet.”
Craig Baily, acting superintendent for Jefferson-Morgan School District, brought up the Narcan initiative during an administrative meeting Thursday. The administrators agreed that they would look further into the option, but no action was taken and Baily was unsure what the timeline would be on the proposal.
The school resource officer at Peters Township High School carries Narcan, said Shelly W. Belcher, the district’s communications coordinator.
Greene County Bureau Chief Mike Jones and staff writer Chelsea Dicks contributed to this report.