On January 10, 2018, Governor Tom Wolf took a step forward in bolstering the fight against heroin and opioid addiction by signing a statewide disaster declaration to enhance state response, increase access to treatment, and save lives. The declaration is the first-of-its-kind for a public health emergency in Pennsylvania. Under this disaster declaration, Delaware Township Volunteer Ambulance Corp. began utilizing new naloxone standing orders issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on January 18, 2018. Naloxone (Narcan) is a life-saving emergency medication given to the victims of opioid overdose including heroin. Naloxone has been proven to reverse the effects of opioids on the brain and respiratory system in order to prevent death. With the new standing orders, once ambulance personnel revive a victim of an opioid overdose, ambulance personnel will then provide a spare naloxone dose with the “At-Risk Person” or with family members, friends, or other persons who are in a position to assist the At-Risk Person in the event of another opioid overdose. In addition to the medication, ambulance personnel will provide instructions on how to use the medication and will provide the patient a referral to drug counseling/treatment. Delaware Township Vol. Ambulance Corp. (DTVAC) will continue to “leave-behind” naloxone for the length of this disaster emergency as long as DTVAC can continue to receive the naloxone for free through programs from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency or similar programs.
DTVAC’s Advanced Life Support Coordinator, Kyle Wright stated, “Unfortunately, it may be too late to revive a person from an overdose by the time an ambulance arrives at the patient and the patient ultimately dies from the overdose. Many of the overdose deaths we respond to are from opioid users who have been assisted by emergency medical services in the past. By enabling the patient’s family or friends to administer naloxone we can cut down on the time from a patient overdose to medication administration, truly increasing the patient’s chance of survival.” In a further effort to reduce the “overdose to naloxone administration time”, DTVAC is in the process of executing naloxone agreements with Delaware Township Volunteer Fire Company and Wild Acres Public Safety. Agreements will allow those agencies to legally possess and use naloxone. Under the agreement, restocking of naloxone will be provided at no cost to the agencies.
In addition to electronic health records generated for every patient interaction, DTVAC will collect data on this program by completing a specific Department of Health survey every time this procedure is used. In addition, DTVAC will now report all naloxone administrations to the applicable federal law enforcement agencies. Wright stated, “The cost of overdoes continues to put a strain on DTVAC’s budget; however, DTVAC has been the recipient of several allocations of Naloxone.” In 2017, the Pike County Alliance for Prevention Programs donated of several emergency doses of Naloxone to DTVAC. The Pike County Alliance for Prevention Programs received the funding for the naloxone from the Barbara Buchanan Endowment coordinated by the Greater Pike Community Foundation. And in 2018, DTVAC received several doses of naloxone to assist in treating opioid-related overdoses from a grant program coordinated by the Pike County Training Center and sponsored by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Physician General. Pike County Training Center Training & Operations Manager, Jordan Wisniewski stated, “Naloxone has been distributed to over eight emergency service agencies in the County and we are ready to assist additional agencies, as needed”. Donations are still needed for other associated medical equipment and supplies used to respond to overdose emergencies. Online donations to DTVAC can be made at www.dtvac.org.
DTVAC has also been focused on prevention efforts and has been a long-time supporter of the Pike County Reality Tour. The Reality Tour® is a community-based drug prevention program designed as a single event to engage parents and children. It utilizes dramatic scenes balanced with coping skills to hopefully avoid drug experimentation by children. The Reality Tour is held four times a year, twice in the Spring and twice in the Fall, at the Milford Bible Church. To obtain a registration form visit www.pikepa.org. or contact Jill Gamboni 570-390-9102. If you would like more information on this program or have any questions, contact DTVAC at (570) 828-2345 or email info@dtvac.org.
