Colorado Springs Fire Department launches project to distribute free Narcan
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Free Narcan will soon be available to Colorado Springs residents in need.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) is launching their "Narcan Leave Behind Project," made possible through the Colorado Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund Opportunity.
The grant gifted over 1,000 doses of Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, to CSFD in an effort to provide the emergency treatment to individuals most at risk of experiencing or witnessing an overdose at no cost.
Narcan is an emergency treatment important in preventing opioid-related deaths and reviving those experiencing overdose before they're able to reach a hospital.
The project is something the fire department says will indeed save lives.
"It can take somebody who is not breathing and make them breathe again. So it literally takes somebody who's almost dead and makes them alive instantaneously." CSFD Medical Director Dr. Stein Bronsky said.
According to a recently released annual report from the El Paso County Coroner, 94% of drug-related deaths occurred prior to transport to the hospital. CSFD said the department's goal with the program is to save lives and get Narcan into the hands of those who might not otherwise have it readily available.
Dr. Bronsky says, "Addiction is a chronically relapsing disease. So, the reason why we want to put this into the hands of everybody out there and not just keep it in the hands of medical professionals is that time matters in a situation like this. The longer somebody is not breathing adequately or obviously if they're not breathing, we need to resuscitate them as soon as possible."
Officials in multiple safety programs in the state, such as CSFD, Community Medicine Units and Community and Public Health Units, will now have the treatment more readily available, CSFD said.
The CSFD will also be giving part of its Narcan stock to American Medical Response (AMR), who will be distributing it at no cost to individuals in need.
