Just hours after Ventnor police began carrying an overdose antidote, they had their first save Friday.
“The ink was still drying on my order and we had our first drug overdose and she’s alive,” Chief Doug Biagi said. “It’s awesome.”
Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner recently directed all police departments in the county to carry naloxone, known to many as Narcan, which is administered nasally and helps reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
It is expensive, at about $100 a dose, Biagi noted. But with help from the Atlantic County Alliance, Ventnor police were able to get kits to about 75 percent to 80 percent of its officers. They were then trained by the alliance’s Charlie Kerley.
Officers James Franco and Kevin Brady were dispatched to the first block of North Wissahickon Avenue at 1:44 p.m., and found a 22-year-old woman overdosed on heroin.
Brady administered one dose of naloxone, and was able to revive the woman, who was then taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s City Campus by the Fire Department’s ambulance.
Biagi noted that naloxone is also sometimes needed for officers or K-9 dogs who can overdose from just touching certain drugs.
Before, police would have to wait for the paramedics to arrive, since the city’s firefighters don’t carry the antidote.
“Almost all the time we make it to ambulance calls before the Fire Department,” said Biagi, who credited Tyner's directive. “It’s a win-win for everybody.”
Lynda Cohen founded BreakingAC after working as a local newspaper reporter for more than two decades. She is an NJPA award-winner and was a Stories of Atlantic City fellow.
