The Schuylkill County Police Chiefs Association learned more about naloxone at its monthly meeting Wednesday at the Schuylkill County Courthouse.
Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David Moylan III said the drug can provide a second chance to those who overdose. The drug blocks the effects of heroin and opiates on the brain.
“Everyone in the law enforcement field knows there is an epidemic out there: drug overdoses,” he said.
Moylan did not have an updated number of how many people in Schuylkill County died from drug overdoses readily available Wednesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a press release that heroin deaths have gone up 39 percent from 2012 to 2013, the most recent data available.
Moylan said naloxone is fast-acting, restoring a person’s ability to breathe in as little as 2 to 5 minutes.
“It’s the magic bullet. There are no side effects of the drug itself,” Moylan said.
“How close are we to possibly implementing this?” Minersville police Chief Michael Combs, president of the Schuylkill County Police Chiefs Association, asked.
Moylan said the funding has to be in place. Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine Holman said more information is needed on the topic and police must also have training, adding all the details have yet to be worked out. She will invite Michelle Denk, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of County Drug and Alcohol Administrators, to attend the April 23 meeting.
Capital Blue Cross, along with the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, is providing funding in its 21-county coverage area for a rescue kit that contains naloxone and an atomizer, a device to administer the drug through nasal spray, which will be used to reverse an overdose on prescription pain medicine or heroin.
The passage of Act 139 by Gov. Tom Corbett in September 2014 permits police and others to administer the drug without fear of prosecution and provides immunity when applicable. Costs for the kits could be about $52. Capital Blue Cross announced in December 2014 that it is providing funding for county emergency personnel because heroin has become a public health crisis. District attorneys must have an agreement with a local emergency medical services agency to get the prescription and then buy naloxone. The police departments must receive training and complete paperwork. The shelf life for the kits is two years.
Moylan said the drug could be ordered wholesale and be stored at the coroner’s office at the Simon Kramer Cancer Institute, New Philadelphia. He would then write the prescriptions as needed.
“I think it has potential to reduce (overdose) deaths in our county,” Moylan said of naloxone.
Some attending the meeting had questions about any liability involved and what temperature the naloxone can be stored at. Others expressed discomfort concerning the injectable form of the drug. Moylan said the drug should be stored at room temperature because moisture can degrade the drug’s effectiveness.
Schuylkill County Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. said the commissioners appreciate what the district attorney’s office is doing in regards to the issue.
“It’s very early in the process. We are also doing our due diligence in conjunction with the district attorney’s office to find out what our responsibility may be if any,” Halcovage said.
In other matters, Barb Umlauf, Hillside SPCA director, and Janine Choplick, humane officer with the shelter, spoke at the meeting about the SPCA. Umlauf said the shelter runs on donations and any help the police can provide is appreciated.
“Last year, we received over 2,000 animals,” she said.
Because of limited Hillside SPCA employees and workers, Umlauf asked if the police could establish a holding facility for animals, especially if an animal is found at night. Combs said the Minersville Police Department has such an area, and it could be something for other county police departments to consider.
Choplick also highlighted the state’s definition of animal cruelty, which includes the act of beating, abusing or neglecting any animal under a person’s care, as well as abandoning the animal or depriving it of food, water or shelter.
“We see a lot of failure to provide medical care,” Choplick said.