Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
HARTFORD, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont school district plans to draft procedures to bring a heroin overdose antidote to its Hartford schools.
The draft will set out procedures for stocking school district nurses and other staff with naloxone, marketed under the name Narcan. The draft is to be completed within the next three months, under a school board vote Wednesday to proceed with plans to have Narcan available in the schools.
A 2013 state survey found that 2 percent of Vermont students reported they had tried heroin. The Narcan supply will cost the district about $100 a year, the Valley News reported (http://bit.ly/1JnZKPB ).
School Board member Paul Keane pushed for bringing the drug to Hartford schools last November. But his colleagues rejected the proposal because of liability concerns and reports that people could become combative after being revived with Narcan.
"All of these things are about risk. The first time, I was against it because there was not a protocol in place," School Board member Peter Merrill said. But "The cost is slight enough, and the issues associated with drug use in this country and this state are severe enough that I would be willing to support a motion."
The National Association of School Nurses began advocating for nurses to incorporate Narcan into school emergency plans in June and the state Department of Health issued guidelines for implementation.
As of July, the health department had distributed more than 2,000 Narcan kits — 279 of which have been used by someone suspected of overdosing.
___
Information from: Lebanon Valley News, http://www.vnews.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
