MASHPEE – The Boys and Girls Club of Cape Cod hosted a free Naloxone/Narcan training and Overdose Prevention Education Hour on Tuesday night.
The training session was put on by the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod and participants completed it in less than an hour.
Although no training is needed in order to purchase a Narcan kit, the training showed participants what an overdose looks like, what the risk factors are for an overdose, how to recognize an overdose and how to administer naloxone.
Donna Mello, the Harm Reduction Manager at the Aids Support Group of Cape Cod, said that those who oppose the use of Narcan don’t understand its use.
“There are no addicts who say “I’m going to use and I’m going to use more because I know that there’s going to be Narcan to save me”, because no one wants to be revived with Narcan, it is going to through them into withdrawal, it will take away their high,” said Mello.
Free naloxone kits were made available for participants at the end of training and those who were trained were then certified to keep and administer naloxone.
Mello is encouraging Cape Cod residents to get trained.
“It’s important because if somebody’s in a nod from using an opioid, it’s important they know what the signs are,” said Mello. “It’s important to know when they need to intervene and it’s important to know what to do.”
Naloxone blocks the opioid’s effects and restores normal breathing when sprayed into the nose of someone who has overdosed.
By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter
