Health council to offer overdose-reversal training

The Quay County Health Council has scheduled two training sessions on how to use Narcan, a drug that can reverse potentially fatal overdoses of fentanyl, Oxycodone and other opioids.

The first session will be at 12:15 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Tucumcari Railroad Depot. The second will be 5:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Quay County Extension Service Office at 216 E. Center St. through the side door.

The council also is offering the training via Zoom videoconference. Those who want to watch by Zoom should call the council at (575) 815-4575 for the link.

Training sessions will last about 45 minutes and include how to identify an opioid overdose, how to use Narcan and follow-up care of a victim. Narcan kits, a $140 value, will be provided to each participant.

It takes two to five minutes without breathing for cardiac arrest to occur. Opioid abusers range from preteens to senior citizens, but many overdoses are accidental. A child may get into the medicine, a patient may forget and take an extra dose, or there is a reaction with other medications a patient is taking.

In addition to prescription opioids, a lethal form of fentanyl is being sold in Quay County. Illicit fentanyl is available in a pill that looks like Oxycodone and is being mixed or cross-contaminated with other drugs. It only takes a few grams, the amount that would fit in the tip of a pencil lead, of pure fentanyl to kill someone.

It is important that substance users never use alone and that people around the user know how to use Narcan and where it is stored. State law allows for anyone to legally administer Narcan to an overdose victim.

Those who cannot attend either of these trainings should email the Health Council at [email protected] or call or text (575) 815-4575 to schedule a training for a group or notify residents of another opportunity.