Pubdate: Tue, 17 Oct 2017
Source: Sun Times, The (Owen Sound, CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Owen Sound Sun Times
Contact: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/letters
Website: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1544
Author: Denis Langlois,
Page: A1

CITY FIREFIGHTERS TO HAVE NALOXONE

This is looking after our own people here as well as the public." Doug
Barfoot, fire chief

Owen Sound firefighters will soon have a new tool at their disposal
that could potentially save lives.

Fire Chief Doug Barfoot said within the next month or so, Owen Sound
Fire & Emergency Services will begin carrying naloxone - the highly
effective drug that can temporarily reverse an overdose by fentanyl or
other opioids - on their main truck.

"We're trying to be proactive here," he said in an
interview.

"It's because of the opioid issue that's getting more prevalent and it
is going on here (in Owen Sound) as well."

Barfoot said the life-saving medication could be used on a patient or
a firefighter who comes into contact with a powerful opioid while on a
call.

"This is looking after our own people here as well as the public," he
said.

Canada's health minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor recently described
the prevalence of opioid misuse and overdoses as a "national public
health crisis."

All levels of government as well as on-the-ground service providers
must work collaboratively, she said, to address and turn the tide on
the crisis.

The Grey Bruce Health Unit says one person dies every 12 hours in
Ontario from an opioid overdose. About one in every 170 deaths in
Ontario is now related to opioid use.

In Grey-Bruce, 40 people were hospitalized last year for an
opioid-related emergency. The number of opioid-related emergency
department visits has tripled since 2002. Nine people died in
Grey-Bruce from acute fentanyl toxicity between 2010 and 2014.

In August, Owen Sound's police chief said the trafficking and illicit
use of the potentially deadly drug fentanyl is his single-biggest
concern. Bill Sornberger told The Sun Times the drug is being found in
every one of the department's drug arrests.

Sarah Ellis of the local health unit is scheduled to speak before city
council tonight about the opioid crisis and share public health's
"call to action" with councillors.

Ellis's presentation, which is included in the agenda for the meeting,
says there are things municipal leaders can do to address the crisis,
such as evaluating the level of harm reduction supports in their
community, including the availability of naloxone for "residents that
need it most." In an Oct. 10 report to the city's corporate services
committee, Barfoot said Grey County paramedics have naloxone in their
ambulances and it is their responsibility to administer the
medication, if needed, when they are on a scene. Paramedics from the
Owen Sound station administered naloxone six times between May 2016
and May 2017.

Barfoot said the fire service also responds to overdose medical calls
and, at times, firefighters are the first on scene.

Firefighters will receive in-house training on delivering naloxone, he
said. A local physician will be consulted, when required. The fire
department will also carry epinephrine to address allergic reactions.
The cost to have both drugs on the truck will be about $530 a year if
none of the products are used.

City council is to vote Tuesday on a committee recommendation for the
fire department to carry naloxone and epinephrine on their truck.

Dr. Ian Arra, physician consultant with the Grey Bruce Health Unit,
said he's happy to hear that the Owen Sound fire department will soon
carry naloxone kits.

"After overdose, usually within 10 minutes a person would be
transferred from starting to die to completely dead. Paramedics are
very efficient at getting to the scene but sometimes it takes more
than that so having naloxone with the first responders other than the
paramedics can be a game-changer," he said.

"It's a drug that works. It takes one to five minutes to work and a
person if they had no breathing, it can be restored
immediately."

Arra agreed that naloxone could also save a responding firefighter's
life.

"There's really no report of first responders succumbing to overdose
by rescuing someone who had an overdose. However, there are many
situations where they find themselves - for example for the police
service or the fire department - to be in a situation where they're in
an illegal lab for making drugs and that would be a serious
situation," he said.

"Naloxone is essential to reversing the overdose and giving the person
a chance to get to the ER and be revived."
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MAP posted-by: Matt