(From a press release.)
The Delaware County Health Department (DCHD) launched a new campaign this week to provide free life-saving resources, including NARCAN® nasal spray, Xylazine test strips, Fentanyl test strips and wound care kits, and training. The Delco Revive campaign is paid for through the Opioid Settlement Fund. DCHD leaders, including Director Melissa Lyon, provided details of the initiative and how residents, organizations, schools and businesses can take advantage of these resources and trainings at a news conference at the Delaware County Wellness Center in Yeadon on Tuesday.
Phil Waibel, a local survivor who works as a therapist and Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative Coordinator at MVP Recovery, shared his remarkable journey of being revived by the administration of NARCAN. Having battled an opiate addiction that started when he was in college and progressed to the point of losing his girlfriend and job, and being evicted from his apartment, Waibel overdosed and was resuscitated by EMTs on his way to the hospital. It was after that life-threatening nightmare that Waibel made the decision to seek recovery.
All these life-saving tools are available to organizations, schools, businesses and individual community members at all three DCHD office locations in Chester, Yeadon, and Eddystone. NARCAN Nasal Spray, or Naloxone, is an overdose-reversing medication. Known for its ease of us, it can save someone’s life instantly. Fentanyl and xylazine test strips are inexpensive drug testing technologies. They can detect any level of fentanyl or xylazine in substances in seconds. American Heart Association Basic Life Support CPR certification and “Stop the Bleed” training appointments are available for free and can be scheduled by calling the Delaware County Wellness Line at 484-276-2100 or by email.
In addition, the Delco Revive campaign aims to end the stigmas regarding substance use disorders, finding help, and recovery options.
First, there’s a stigma that you can harm someone and get into trouble administering NARCAN, or for taking other life-saving emergency actions. This is false. NARCAN cannot harm or injure anyone who is experiencing an overdose or life-threatening event.
Second, medical, and non-medical civilians are protected by the Good Samaritan Act, which guards anyone who renders emergency care, first aid, or rescue at a scene.
There is also a stigma that you do not need to carry NARCAN because you, your friends, or family do not have substance use disorders. But carrying NARCAN is not only about saving the lives of people we know; it is about having the tools available to save any life at any time.
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