CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Medical professionals across the state will be trained on how to prescribe the drug Naloxone to those at risk of experiencing an overdose starting Monday.
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources announced the training dates following Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s passing of Senate Bill 335, creating the Opioid Antagonists Act. The bill allows first responders to transport a patient to a hospital to receive appropriate medical attention after an overdose.
The drug is used to help counter the effects of respiratory depression caused by opioids like heroin.
The DHHR will be providing the Naloxone “Train the Trainer” program to Emergency Medical Service agency educators, in six regions of the state, that regularly provide training classes to their staff. There is no cost to attend.
Melissa Kinnaird, director of the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services, said trainers will be taught what exactly opioids are, what Naloxone is, the different modes of administration and what they can expect as a response from the patient.
“The most important thing that will not be stressed enough during the training is as soon as they administer, they need to call 911 so help can be on the way,” said Kinnaird.
Kinnaird said demonstrations will be provided and trainers will be able to practice holding the Naloxone nasal spray in their hand.
She said the drug is critical in West Virginia due to the increased number in death related over doses.
“It’s all about saving lives,” she said, “This bill really gives first responders a way to have an intervention that can maybe improve some of those statistics for us.”
A list of those training dates, times and locations for agency educators includes:
Mineral Wells Region:
May 18, 2015, 10:00 a.m., WV EMS Technical Support Network (TSN) Office in Mineral Wells
Huntington Region:
May 20, 2015, 10:00 a.m., Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority’s (KCEAA) Auditorium in Charleston
Beckley Region:
May 21, 2015, 10:00 a.m., Beckley Mine Academy Room G-214 in Beckley
Martinsburg Region:
May 22, 2015, 10:00 a.m., WV EMS Technical Support Network (TSN) Office in Martinsburg
Wheeling Region:
May 19, 2015, 9:00 a.m., Wheeling Medical Park Hospital Conference Room C (Tower 4)
Fairmont Region:
May 19, 2015, 10:00 a.m., Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) 7 Office in Fairmont