Greenwich Hospital has donated life-saving Narcan nasal spray to the Greenwich Police Department to ensure every police vehicle is equipped with the medication used to revive opiate overdose victims.
The hospital donated 37, two-dose packets of Narcan nasal spray worth an estimated $5,000 as part of a coordinated community effort to address the opioid addiction epidemic, said Norman G. Roth, Greenwich Hospital president and CEO. Greenwich Emergency Medical Service (GEMS) trained police officers in the use of Narcan.
Narcan is sprayed into the nostril of opiate overdose victims to revive them. Opioid overdoses require immediate action; a matter of minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
“Greenwich is not immune to the scourge of drugs,” said Greenwich Police Chief Jim Heavey. He said all marked police vehicles, three police boats and certain special police units, such as narcotics, will be equipped with Narcan.
Eight drug overdoses have taken place in Greenwich in 2018 to date, Heavey said, and a fatal overdose occurred last October.
So far in 2018, GEMS has administered Narcan 20 times, of which six cases were confirmed opioid overdoses, said Chris Tremblay of GEMS.