W. Va. State Troopers to be Equipped With Naloxone

Dec. 17--PRINCETON -- Troopers with the West Virginia State Police have a new tool in the state's three southernmost counties ... naloxone.

Booth Goodwin, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, conducted a press conference Wednesday at the state police Princeton Detachment to introduce a pilot program funded by a $100,000 grant through "Project Renew" that will train and provide troopers with a dosage of the drug -- also known as Narcan -- that can reverse the effects of opioid overdose.

Goodwin stated that the regional opioid epidemic started with pills, but in recent months, "we've seen the problem move more into heroin," he said. "The risk of (opioid) overdose has grown exponentially," Goodwin said.

He explained that people who overdose on opioids can be saved through the proper administration of the drug naloxone, a medication that triggers the brain to start breathing again after an individual has stopped breathing due to overdose. "It could save your life," he said.

Goodwin explained that during the 2015 session, the state legislature passed laws that provide protection to emergency responders who administer naloxone. He added that anyone who administers the drug needs training. "We need to do it right," he said.

According to Goodwin, his office worked with Greg Puckett of Community Connections Inc., as Puckett applied for a Rural Opioid Overdose Reversal Grant Program (ROOR) and was awarded a $100,000 grant to provide training, naloxone, rubber gloves and a breathing apparatus to help restore the patients breathing.

"The West Virginia State Police has been an incredible partner with my office," Goodwin said. He expressed thanks to Major Tim Bradley, director of field services for the West Virginia State Police and Captain Brad L. Mankins Troop Six commander for their support.

Puckett said that entering into the overdose reversal program took "a leap of faith," on the part of Community Connections, but he was proud to say that Community Connections was one of 16 agencies in the nation to receive the grant -- and one of two in the state. Puckett expressed thanks to Gov. Ear; Ray Tomblin and the state legislature for making the program possible.

"We are doing something that hasn't been done," Puckett said. He said that the grant involves "taking a universal approach" to addressing the drug overdose problem. "We are all on the same page," he said. He added that it is a one-year pilot program that will be employed by the 25 troopers of that serve the Wyoming, McDowell and Mercer county area.

Erica D. Ellis-Bartling, Project Renew coordinator through Communications Inc., explained that West Virginia leads the nation with 35 opioid deaths per each 100,000 people, but the three southern counties lead the state. She said that in Mercer County, 48 out of every 100,000 people die of opioid overdose. In Wyoming County, 82 out of every 100,000 people die of opioid overdose and in McDowell County, 94 out of every 100,000 people die of opioid overdose.

Goodwin said that the three southern counties are "the epicenter of the crisis." He expressed thanks to everyone involved in the pilot program. "This program is about saving lives," he said.

-- Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

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