News

Use of Narcan to Revive Ohio County`s Overdose Patients Increasing

Rick McCrabb

08/31/2016

Aug. 31--BUTLER COUNTY -- The number of people in Butler County being revived with Narcan after overdosing on opioids is increasing, and while some herald the drug as a life saver, others say it is an enabler, giving addicts a safety net that allows them to take more risks.

Narcan, widely sold under its generic name, naloxone, counteracts the effects of heroin and powerful painkillers and has been routinely used by ambulance crews and emergency rooms in the U.S. But in the past few years, public health officials across the country have been distributing it to addicts and their loved ones, as well as to police and firefighters.

Butler County fire departments are seeing an increase in the number of doses of the costly drug.

Hamilton Fire Chief Steve Dawson said his department administered 772 doses of Narcan in 2015, a record. Through the first nine months of 2016, medics have administered 601 doses, meaning the department is on pace for 801 doses, he said.

In Middletown, during the first six months of 2016, emergency medical services responded to 212 overdose calls related to opiates with 39 overdose deaths, said Capt. David Von Bargen.

A single dosage of Narcan costs $33, according to Middletown Fire Chief Paul Lolli. The fire department received a $12,000 grant to purchase Narcan this year. It has contributed just over $3,000 out of the city's EMS fund to purchase the drug, he told the Journal-News.

The chair of the Butler County Heroin Hope Line told the Journal-News that heroin addicts are depending too much on Narcan and are being revived by the drug multiple times in one month.

"They're feeling invincible," said Lindsey Scruggs, who works with Heroin Hope Line, which has offices in Butler, Warren and Clinton counties. "When their lives are saved by Narcan, it gives them a sense of super powers, that they will not die."

"They think Narcan is their treatment and that's not the case," she said. "They're depending on Narcan to live and it's really sad."

Jason Groves is a chemical dependency counselor who travels across the state teaching counties how to set up medicated assisted treatment centers. He said Narcan has its place, but he worries that addicts are using it "as a crutch."

"They're getting more brave, figuring someone will save their life," he said.

Groves mentioned the 174 people who overdosed during a six-day period last week in Cincinnati.

"I'd be worried that the EMS wouldn't get to me in time," he said.

But Chief Tom Synan, head of the Hamilton County Heroin Task Force, says Narcan is the best option first responders have now.

"Do we let people die? No other segment of my job do people even suggest that we should let people die," he told our news partner WCPO 9 On Your Side.

"I've been on calls with people who have multiple DUIs and have been in auto accidents. Society didn't tell me or the police officers to let that person die. I've been on multiple runs with the same person on attempted suicides and society didn't tell me to let them die. In fact, they told me and other officers we should risk our lives to save their life. That's what our job is. Our job is to save lives," he said.

In an example of heroin users taking higher risks, a father and son were found unresponsive from heroin overdoses Monday night on Interstate 75 in West Chester Twp.

Kenneth Partin Sr., 56, and Kenneth Partin Jr., 31, were found unconscious in their vehicle in the center median. An Ohio Highway Patrol trooper broke out a rear passenger's window on a Chevy Cruze to get them out of the vehicle, according to a statement from the Lebanon post. Both Cincinnati men were unresponsive and the father was slumped over the steering wheel, officials said.

Just before 5:30 p.m. Monday, OSP dispatch received several calls about a vehicle swerving through all lanes until it came to a stop in the center median.

West Chester EMS and Fire Department, along with other with other law enforcement agencies, were dispatched to the scene and determined both occupants were suffering from a heroin overdose. Narcan was administered to both men at the scene and they were taken to West Chester Hospital.

The father was later charged with OVI and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has been given a summons to appear in court.

But a Middletown recovering addict doesn't believe Narcan is impacting the number of overdoses. Ron Ward, founder of Celebrating Restoration, a grassroots campaign to free those from addictions, recently opened an office in Middletown. He said addicts don't overdose because they know Narcan is available.

"I didn't care if I was brought back, I just wanted the pain to stop," Ward said. "I was tired of the struggles. The struggles are real. We get tired of using."

He has talked to addicts who were revived by Narcan. Sometimes, he said, they're upset.

Ward spends his days, and nights, trying to get addicts out of that lifestyle.

"These are real individuals; real people who deserve to live," he said. "It's like a war out here. We don't want to leave our buddies behind. We have to carry everyone to the finish line."