Medford, Ore. — Medical leaders throughout the state were in Southern Oregon on Friday for a discussion on prescription pill abuse, the leading cause of overdose death in the state.
County health officials and others talked about Naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses and is making a major difference to our north in Multnomah County.
For years emergency crews have had access to the drug Naloxone, but now a law passed in the last year allows everyday people to get a prescription for it so if they see someone overdosing, they can administer the life-saving drug immediately.
It was a day Haven Wheelock will remember for the rest of her life, when she saved someone else’s life.
“A client came in and said someone was overdosing a few blocks away,” said Wheelock.
She grabbed her Naloxone, ran to where the man lay unconscious and injected him with the drug. Within minutes he was up and talking.
“I actually feel like I can feel the power to save lives in my hand when I hold a bottle of this,” said Wheelock.
Wheelock works with Outside In – a Portland organization that among other things, distributes Naloxone to people who need it.
“We’re training family members, we’re training friends, we’re training people who are having drugs themselves to carry it,” Wheelock explained.
According to Wheelock, in the last six or so months, they’ve seen success.
“We saw a 44% reduction in heroin related death,” she said.
Dr. Jim Shames with Jackson County Health is on board with trying to develop a similar program here in Southern Oregon.
“We have to figure out how to pay for it but I have no doubt we’re going to have a Naloxone program in Jackson County,” said Shames.
Over at the Medford Police Department, Chief Tim George is paying close attention. Heroin is on the rise in Medford.
“We’ve seen quadruple increases in the number of calls for service involving heroin,” said George.
That’s why George is pushing to get Naloxone stocked in police cars.
“This is just another tool in the tool box to save a life and I don’t think it gets any more important than that,” George said.
Right now doctors and nurse practitioners can prescribe Naloxone but Shames said they want a robust program that reaches out to people in need.
It costs about $17 for the injectable kind, and $30 for the nasal spray.
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