The Lake County Opioid Initiative has begun training school nurses to administer the opioid antidote Naloxone to students suffering from opioid overdose.
The program is in response to statewide legislation passed in August that authorized school nurses to administer the antidote in appropriate situations without facing legal consequences.
“We are in the midst of a opiate prescription pain medication and heroin epidemic, and the unfortunate reality is that these deadly drugs exist in our schools," Lake County State's Attorney and co-founder of LCOI Mike Nerheim said. "Ensuring that the antidote is present in school settings is a common-sense response."
Naloxone has gained nationwide attention as an effective means of stemming a nationwide surge in opioid abuse. The drug is administered through injection and takes effect within one to five minutes.
Nurses at Lincolnshire's Adlai Stevenson High School were the first to receive Naloxone training at an event held on Nov. 10.
"Stevenson believes in taking a proactive approach to the health of all of our students,” Adlai Stevenson High School's Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator Dr. Cristina Cortesi said. “Though we hope never to have the need for Naloxone in our building, we acknowledge that overdose is a reality for young adults in our surrounding communities. We want to take every step to be appropriately prepared.”
The initiative hopes training school nurses will offer the same life-saving insurance that training for local police officers has provided. Naloxone training provided to Lake County police officers has accounted for saving approximately 40 lives.
According to the initiative's leaders, Lake County has seen deaths from opioid overdose involving people as young as 12 years old.
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