Clovis will have Narcan in every classroom to combat drug overdoses. Here’s what we know
A local nonprofit organization has donated more than 2,000 boxes of Narcan – the brand name for naloxone, the medication used to treat narcotic overdose in an emergency – to the Clovis Unified district.
Clovis Unified School District will soon receive 2,100 boxes of Narcan, each with two units (4,200 doses total), from Parents and Addicts in Need (PAIN), said Kelly Avants, spokesperson for the school district. The district plans to have the medication available in all district classrooms.
Parents and Addicts in Need (PAIN) is a Fresno-based organization that assists those experiencing drug addiction, their families and communities with establishing family emotional support, planning effective coordination of personalized rehabilitation and accessing and training to use Narcan (naloxone).
Nationally, the median monthly overdose deaths among children and teenagers ages 10 to 19 increased 109% from 2019 to 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in a December 2021 report.
Clovis Unified serves close to 43,000 students and is the fourteenth-largest school district in the state. When an opportunity came up for the district to receive Narcan doses, Avants said it acted on it.
“Right now, we have limited distribution of Narcan on our campuses and have trained members of our health and safety team on its administration,” she said. “Given that seconds matter in the case of an overdose, this will allow us to have more people trained and more locations where a trained individual can access a potentially life-saving intervention on our campuses.”
Avants said the decision to seek Narcan for all classrooms came out of conversations with teachers concerned about the nationwide drug use and overdose problem.
“To this point, we have had only a very small number of times that trained staff at a school site (not in a classroom setting) has administered Narcan in situations involving adult visitors on campus or a student suspected of an overdose,” Avants said.
She did not provide further detail about how many times Narcan was used, and how many of those instances was it specifically administered to adults or district students.
“Illegal fentanyl is a pervasive problem in our nation and is present in our local community, which means we want to be prepared in the event we encounter someone – adult or student – in need,” she said. “We felt it was a precautionary step we could take to help support the health and safety of the tens of thousands of students and adults who come and go on and around our campuses every day.”
The district is now working through the details of implementation, training and distribution, Avants said, and will distribute the Narcan doses once they arrive at district facilities and plans are finalized.
Fresno Unified has Narcan available at its schools
Fresno Unified School District, the third-largest school district in California, received 48 Narcan units through the California Health and Human Services Department for the 2022-2023 school cycle, according to an official message from the district’s Superintendent’s Office to the board from June 16, 2023.
Two units of the medication were provided to each secondary site, the district purchased Narcan safety containers to keep the medication properly guarded and installed these next to the Automated External Defibrillators (AED) close to offices.
During that time, two Narcan units were used in medical emergencies and “neither turned out to be related to an opioid overdose,” the document reads. Since then, replacement units were provided and the district secured 220 new, additional units for the 2023-2024 school year. The district then planned to purchase additional safety boxes for these new units and install them over the summer so there are two units at each of its 68 elementary schools.
Principals and campus safety assistants received Narcan training in the 2022-2023 school year, the Superintendent’s Office stated, and the district’s health services anticipated “additional training opportunities” along with the new units for the 2023-2024 school year.
The district confirmed that the additional 220 Narcan units were indeed installed across 68 elementary schools, meaning all Fresno Unified schools have 2 Narcan doses each.
“School site leaders and nurses are all trained to administer Narcan,” said Nikki Henry, district spokesperson. “We have not had to use any Narcan on students in the several years that we’ve had it stocked.”
How to get Narcan at your school, office or organization
The California Department of Health Care Services created its Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP) to combat opioid overdose-related deaths throughout the state and offers free naloxone doses.
Eligible workspaces and public offices vary from schools, fire stations, community organizations, county and city agencies, community clinics, law enforcement, courts and criminal justice partners, and more.
Those interested interested can apply online for free Narcan nasal spray or intermuscular naloxone (shot-administered). To check eligibility and required paperwork, visit:
The DHCS webpage on the NDP at https://bit.ly/3U5TcU6
The Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP) webpage at https://bit.ly/47HdPcs
This story was originally published January 22, 2024 at 12:07 PM.