NDSU program provides more access to Narcan

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Thanks to a $250,000 state grant, an NDSU program is helping our community have more access to Narcan.

NDSU’s ONE program features a team of students and faculty focusing on opioid and naloxone education.

They’re partnering with local public health units across the state where you can find Narcan nasal sprays anywhere.

“Imagine being in a hockey arena and someone overdoses. There’s no life-saving medication. That person has to wait until an ambulance or police officer gets there,” says Dr. Heidi Eukel, a professor at NDSU and pharmacist.

Soon, you’ll find more of them in schools, bars, campgrounds, community centers, sports arenas, retail stores and more.

“If we’re waiting until an ambulance gets there, sometimes it might be too late. I like to think of it as that AED. Why do we have AED machines in our school gyms? It’s because if someone has a heart attack while watching their child play volleyball, we can start saving them right now rather than waiting until emergency personnel get there.

In the box, you can find all the tools you need to save someone experiencing an overdose and it takes you through all the steps.

“”There’s a video in the box that talks about what to do in the case of an overdose. If you find someone unresponsive and it could be due to an opioid, the video actually walks someone through all the steps just like you’d do with an AED. With those AEDs in a school, it talks you through, ‘put the patches here, push this button’. So, that video in the ONE box does that,” said Dr. Eukel.

Each box has two doses of nasal naloxone, a CPR mask, gloves and wipes.

“It’s just like a fire extinguisher. We hope we never have to use it but it’s there just in case.”

Using the nasal spray cannot cause harm to anyone, so a Good Samaritan using a ONE Box does not have to be hesitant.