Opioid Task Force learns details of new Noxalone tracking program

 

[August 18, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

The Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital Community Health Collaborative Opioid Task Force met on Thursday August 8th. The meeting was an opportunity for the various subgroups within the task force to offer updates on the work they are doing to deter the use of opioid based drugs within Logan County.

The task force is utilizing a four pillar approach that includes but is not limed to prevention, education and treatment.

During the meeting the group heard from task force member Lincoln Fire Chief Mark Miller regarding a new program he is utilizing to track the usage of Noxalone or Narcan within the county.

Noxalone, also known as Narcan, is used when a victim is unconscious from an opioid overdose. The drug is safe and easy to administer and will quickly revive the overdose victim. Afterward, that person still needs to be transferred to a hospital for additional treatment, but the Narcan buys valuable time for the victim and is a proven life safer.

At recent meetings, the task force has discussed the use of the drug and wondered if there was a means to determine how often it is being used and how often it can be credited for saving a life. Miller volunteered to research how to create a tracking system for the use of the drug.

At the August meeting, he reported that he now has a good tool, thanks to attending a Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) meeting. MABAS allows Illinois fire departments to share equipment and services easily. The program also permits networking of the fire departments and opportunities to discuss issues in their communities and come up with best practice procedures.

Miller explained that statewide, MABAS members are taking an interest in the use of Narcan and how to track it. At a recent meeting the group learned of an overdose mapping program that is being used on the East Coast. Miller said after that meeting he did further research and was able to easily get the program and began using it last month.

He said the program offers a number of features. The procedure will be that when Narcan is administered, the first responder will report it to Miller. Miller will then input data into the program to create a permanent record of the use of the drug.

In the program, Miller said the information input will include the age of the victim, address where the incident occurred, and if the incident was “fatal” or “non-fatal.” He said there will be no names input into the report. The addresses however he said had additional value because those addresses are then pinned onto a map within the program. He can then print a map that shows clearly where the drug was used, which also indicates where drug usage is prevalent within the community. Miller said that map will be very useful in a ‘big picture’ sort of way.

Miller handed out copies of the first 30-day report, showing that the information collected indicated there had been 11 instances where Narcan was administered. Of the 11, there were no fatalities, though Miller said there was once incident where he saw it as simply amazing that it was not fatal. He described the scenario saying that the victim had been unconscious and the first dose of Narcan did not work. He said that the second dose was administered and it did work to a certain degree. The patient was transported and came close to death again in the ambulance. At the hospital the victim was given medical treatment, and for quite some time it was touch and go, but he said the patient did come out of it.

Miller said that in the report, one surprising development was the age of the victims. He said that several of them were beyond the age of 50.

He also noted that it was sometimes shocking to see what people will do to get the drug they need. He noted arriving on scene at one call where the person had seven Fentanyl patches on the body and was actually eating one.

Miller’s comment about the Fentanyl prompted the question, are we seeing an increase of that drug in Logan County. Fentanyl is deadly and much more dangerous than even Heroin and Cocaine. The odds of fatality with this drug are much higher than any other opioid based drug available.

Miller said that he doesn’t see a lot of Fentanyl. He noted in Lincoln the recent cases had included three heroin and one unknown substance. He said that it isn’t always possible to know at the scene what the drug is. So the term unknown substance is used.

Miller was asked about the procedure for administering the drug. He noted that Narcan does not harm a person in any way, so it is safe to administer whether there is an opioid involved or not. Regarding procedure, he said when the victim cannot speak for themselves and it is unknown what is happening, the first response is to check for a diabetic cause. If there are no indications that the person is having a diabetic reaction, then Narcan is administered.

Miller said that he will be the sole person responsible for the reporting program and he is working with his department, city police, Logan County Paramedics, and the Logan County Sheriff’s Office to get everyone accustomed to filing reports with Miller.

The reports will be made available on a regular basis to the task force.

[Nila Smith]