Stacy Shelp, spokesperson for the Orange County Health Department, said the Hillsborough Police Department was the last agency in Orange County to be trained to use naloxone, the drug that counteracts opioid medication. The Carrboro Police Department was the first to be trained in North Carolina, followed by the Chapel Hill police.
“It’s not just about stopping an overdose when it happens, which is life-saving and critical, but we have seen our local law enforcement saving lives and that’s really what it’s all about,” Shelp said.
Naloxone reverses the effects of an opioid overdose by blocking its effects. According to the Orange County 2017 Public Health Dashboard, more than a quarter of opioid overdose deaths in Orange County from 2009 to 2013 occurred in Hillsborough, though its population is smaller than other towns in the county.
Kim Woodward, operations manager for Orange County Emergency Medical Services, said the naloxone training involved a joint partnership between Orange County Emergency Services and the Orange County Health Department. During training, officers learned about the scope of the opioid problem in North Carolina and how naloxone works as a course of action.
“In each of the trainings, I asked officers to raise their hands if they’ve been on the scene and had to wait for EMS to respond, and they all raised their hands,” Woodward said. “Knowing we were getting this tool in the officers’ hands so they wouldn’t have to stand there and have nothing to do — we’ve now given them a lifesaving tool.”
The naloxone program is funded by a grant through the Orange County Health Department and the naloxone kits were provided to the police departments at no charge, Woodward said. She thinks the cost is a barrier to similar systems in other counties.
Lt. Andy Simmons with the Hillsborough police said the department has only received positive feedback about their use of naloxone.
“We haven’t had to use it yet, and I don’t want to say that I wish there was ever a time where we do have to use it, but from this point forward we’re glad that we have it and it’s a tool that will help us combat drug overdoses in the future,” Simmons said.
