It’s the first district in Camden County to have the heroin reversal drug available.
The Board of Camden County Freeholders and the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force introduced legislation yesterday that supplies Narcan in the Black Horse Pike Regional School District — Timber Creek Regional High School, Triton Regional High School and Highland Regional High School. Narcan is a heroin reversal drug that can potentially save the life of a student or employee who is experiencing an overdose. The announcement was made at Triton Regional High School.
“It takes courage to be the first school district (in Camden County) to make Narcan available,” said Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli. “They recognize the fact that this is an a epidemic. They are prepared at all times and at all costs to save somebody from an overdose.”
In 2015, the board of freeholders formed the Camden County Addiction Task Force, which holds community awareness and works with local law enforcement to promote educational events and programs. This taskforce was created due to the addiction epidemic taking place in Camden County.
According to Cappelli, 1,228 people in Camden County overdosed in 2015 and 2016, resulting in 358 deaths. In 2016, over 50,000 people died of an overdose in the United States.
Shortly after the taskforce was created, they worked with every police department in Camden County to be trained on Narcan and have it readily available.
“What resulted from the willingness of these police departments was an army of angels,” said Cappelli. “Over the past two years, the officers have saved 317 lives in Camden County. Hopefully we’ll never need Narcan in any of the buildings in the school district, but if we do, lives will be saved.”
Black Horse Pike Regional School District Superintendent Dr. Brian Repici said addiction is a mental health issue that does not discriminate.
“This impacts children and families we serve and as an educational institution, we want to make sure we are fully prepared and able to demonstrate our utmost care for those battling addiction and for those family members battling addiction,” he said.
Gloucester Township Chief of Police Harry Earle, who is also on the task force, said his police department began implementing various programs due to the opioid epidemic in 2014. He knew something had to be done in the school district.
“I urged them to start being equipped with Naloxone (the generic for Narcan),” he said. “Although no one has experienced an overdose in any of those schools, all of us from the taskforce agreed that having the mediation in the hands of nurses was something that needed to happened just in case. I am proud Dr. Repici was listening and he was not only listening, he acted.”
The district’s nurse, Christa Moore, had a $600 Narcan kit on hand with two doses of the medicine, and said her role is to be ready for any health concern or emergency.
“This can literally be the difference between life and death,” she said.
