HomeMy WebLinkAboutNR032819KauaipolicenowequippedwithmedicationthatreversesopioidoverdoseF� OF
THE COUNTY OF KAUA'I
DEREK S. K. KAWAKAMI, MAYOR
qa 4 MICHAEL A. DAHILIG, MANAGING DIRECTOR
OF
News Release
For Immediate Release: March 28, 2019
KAUA`I POLICE DEPARTMENT
MICHAEL M. CONTRADES, ACTING CHIEF
Tel (808) 241-1600
Fax (808) 241-1604
Kauai police now equipped with medication that reverses opioid overdose
LIHUE — Kaua`i police officers are now equipped and trained to administer a nasal spray
medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid-involved overdose.
"The misuse of opioids continues to affect our island and our families," said Kauai Police
Assistant Chief Roy Asher. "Although the naloxone program does not solve the opioid crisis, our
officers are now better prepared when responding to a drug overdose. We are now able to save
a life in a way which was not possible through past practice."
The life-saving medication is called naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan,
and it's administered through a nasal spray. Naloxone acts within minutes and works by
temporarily displacing opioids from the receptors in the brain to restore normal breathing.
In 2016, Gov. David Ige enacted Act 68 which authorized police, firefighters, lifeguards,
all emergency medical technicians, family and friends to administer overdose reversal
medications, such as naloxone, to anyone suffering from an opioid-related drug overdose. Act
68 also authorized harm -reduction organizations to store and distribute naloxone to the public.
Through a grant from the state Department of Health awarded to the Hawaii Health and
Harm Reduction Center (previously known as the CHOW Project), the Kauai Police Department
in 2018 was given 192 Narcan kits, worth nearly $25,000.
In September 2018, and in March of this year, officers were trained in the use of
naloxone by the Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center and Malama Pono Health Se
"We are grateful for the laws in place and for our partnering agencies that have provided
us with the Narcan kits," said Assistant Chief Asher. "Being equipped with naloxone not only
enables us to protect the public, it is also important for the protection of our officers in the field in
the rare but possible event of becoming exposed to a dangerous drug."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opioids are
currently the main driver of drug overdose deaths in the United States. The CDC reported that in
2017, opioids were involved in 47,600 out of 70,237 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. In
Hawaii, the state Department of Health reported that unintentional drug poisonings, or
overdoses, are the leading cause of injury -related death in the islands, and an average of five
deaths per year occurred on Kauai between 2010 and 2014 due to a drug overdose.
For more information on naloxone and overdose prevention, visit Malama Pono Health
Services at https://mphskauai.org or contact your health care provider.