By Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs - (@morrittjacobs on Twitter)

Fighting Fentanyl – Critical Naloxone Training At Lethbridge College

Dec 6, 2016 | 10:25 AM

LETHBRIDGE – Community outreach workers like Stacey Bourque, know all too well the intensity of administering the first Naloxone kits in the critical moments of a client’s possibly fatal Fentanyl overdose.

This is why ARCHES has partnered with Lethbridge College to offer Overdose Prevention and Take Home Naloxone Training as a professional development session for the Health and Wellness Centre.

Bourque, the executive director of local harm reduction agency ARCHES explains that Lethbridge has been hit with a steady increase in incidence of overdoses in recreational users due to traces of Fentanyl getting mixed in with other drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine, which are in turn unknowingly sold.

“I think that the more people who have the training around overdose and Naloxone, the safer the community is as a whole. This is an issue that is affecting everyone, all communities and all populations. We’ve seen overdoses in young children right up to people in older ages from all socioeconomic backgrounds,” she said.

The training will focus on overdose prevention, recognition and emergency response. Participants will learn how to educate friends and family who use drugs on safety measures to be used and how to perform effective rescue breathing.

Week-in-review: Federal Budget, water agreements and success for tourism industry

Apr 20, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: April 19, 2024

Apr 19, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: April 15, 2024

Apr 15, 2024

The session will teach the public using a SAVEME acronym.

S timulate (to see if a person is responsive)
A irway (check and clear)
V entilate (1 breath every 5 seconds)
E valuate
M uscular Injection (1ml of Naloxone if available)
E valuate (consider second dose of Naloxone if needed)

“During the training we practice administration by drawing up water out of a fake Naxolone vial and then practice injecting the water into an orange. If there is need for someone at the training we can prescribe a Naloxone kit to them,” she added.

Participants of the training will also earn a certificate, which can be applied to a resume.

The training will take place at Lethbridge College in the E.C. Fredericks Theatre on December 7, from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m.

From the beginning of 2016 to the end of October over 300 Albertans died from a opioid drug overdose. Fentanyl was involved nearly 200 of them.