Ind. department to get heroin antidote from grants

By Christian Sheckler
South Bend Tribune

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — By this summer, two of St. Joseph County’s three largest police forces will have their officers equipped with a life-saving antidote to heroin overdoses.

As many as 80 officers with the St. Joseph County Police Department will receive training and doses of naloxone by late spring, thanks to one of three nonprofit agencies that received state grants to distribute the antidote, said Assistant Chief Bill Thompson, a county police spokesman.

The county police will join the South Bend Police Department, which equipped its entire force of about 250 officers with naloxone last summer. Mishawaka police officials have thus far chosen not to outfit their force with the medicine.

Thompson said county officials saw a need for naloxone because, although medics have long carried it, patrol officers are often in the best position to quickly respond to an overdose scene in outlying suburbs or rural areas.

“Because of the geographical nature of the county, we’re spread out a little differently than the municipal police agencies,” Thompson said. “We have really good first responders, fire departments, but sometimes we find ourselves quite a ways away from that help.”

Starting in August, when South Bend police started carrying a nasal spray version of naloxone, officers used it to revive about 12 people who were suspected of overdosing on heroin or related opiate painkillers, said Capt. Robert Hammer, a city police spokesman.

Hammer said officers reported good results after using the medicine, which blocks heroin from reaching receptors in the brain that process opiates.

In Mishawaka, police officials believed the average difference in response time between police and medics was not significant enough for officers to carry naloxone, Assistant Chief Steve Ravotto said, adding that the department also had concerns about the cost. He said was not aware of any efforts to seek grants of help from nonprofits for the medicine.

Data collected by local fire departments show the use of naloxone by first responders has seen a substantial increase as the area struggles with an epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse.

In 2015, Mishawaka Fire Department medics gave naloxone to 75 people, an increase from 61 the year before, EMS Battalion Chief Brian Thomas said. By comparison, Thomas estimated, medics used naloxone a total of about 75 times in his first 10 years with the department combined.

South Bend first responders, including medics and police officers, used naloxone about 265 times in 2015 and about 142 times between July and December 2014, fire department EMS Chief Andrew Myer said.

Some elected officials and public health advocates are pushing for greater access to naloxone among civilians, too. Last month, the Indianapolis-based nonprofit Overdose Lifeline sponsored an event that trained and equipped about 30 civilians with the medicine.

Indiana lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow all pharmacies to distribute naloxone without requiring a prescription. Under a standing order granted last year, all CVS Pharmacies in Indiana are already registered with the state to sell naloxone without a prescription.

Thomas, the Mishawaka Fire Department EMS chief, cautioned that no one should think of naloxone as a “magic bullet,” adding that those who carry it need to know the responsibilities that come with it. Anyone who gives naloxone to an overdose victim must call 911 immediately, he said, and should be prepared to use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Still, he said, naloxone is an important tool as overdoses continue to increase.

“When used properly, it saves lives.”

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