Yarmouth Police Save Overdose Victim with Narcan

Yarmouth PoliceYARMOUTH – Yarmouth police officers saved a 25-year-old from a heroin overdose yesterday using Narcan.

Yarmouth Police Department Patrol Officer Jason Batchelder was dispatched to a home in West Yarmouth for a report of a heroin overdose Wednesday, December 3 at about 2:41 p.m.

The caller stated that the involved person was not breathing and they had Narcan on scene but did not know how to use it.

Batchelder arrived with his First Aid Kit, AED, and Narcan pouch. Once inside he was directed to the bathroom by the father of the victim where he observed a young man slumped over on the floor. The 25-year-old’s face was blue and he was not breathing and unresponsive.

Patrol Officer Batchelder assembled the Narcan kit as Yarmouth Police Department Proactive Anti-Crime Unit Officers Christopher Van Ness and Nicholas Ambrosini arrived on scene and Narcan spray was administered through the victim’s nostrils. Within seconds, the victim opened his eyes and became conscious and alert.

Members of the Yarmouth Fire Department arrived and provided advanced first aid and life support and transported the man to Cape Cod Hospital where he is currently being treated and is expected to survive.

Narcan is a prescription drug known as Naloxone which is a pure opioid antagonist developed by Sankyo in the 1960s. Unlike other opioid receptor antagonists it has no concomitant agonist properties. Naloxone is a drug used to counter the effects of opioid overdose, such as heroin or morphine specifically the life-threatening depression of the central nervous system, respiratory system, and hypotension secondary to opiate overdose.

The Yarmouth Police Department has responded to 50 drug overdoses so far in 2104.

The department also hosts weekly ‘Learn to Cope’ Group Support sessions designed for families struggling with heroin and opiate addiction every Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. in the Community Room at Yarmouth Police Headquarters.

The meetings are held in confidence and Narcan and training in the use of Narcan is available at no cost at the conclusion of the meetings. For more information about ‘Learn to Cope’ and Narcan please visit www.learn2cope.org.



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