Boulder Valley School District Becomes One Of Only Two Colorado School Districts To Offer Narcan As Fentanyl Overdoses Surge

Press release from the Boulder Valley School District:

December 11, 2021

Every school in the Boulder Valley School District now carries a lifesaving dose of Naloxone (also known as Narcan), which is used to reverse the effects of a drug overdose from opiates. Given the growing number of fentanyl overdoses in our community, the BVSD Health Services team made the decision to have the opioid antidote on hand as an incredibly important preventative measure if needed - much like having first aid kits, AED units and Stop the Bleed kits in our schools. All school nurses and school personnel have been trained on how to use the antidote.

“We are grateful to have the support of Boulder County Public Health along with our district's leadership, Superintendent Dr. Anderson, and our Board of Education to supply our schools with the opioid reversal medication, Narcan,” said BVSD Health and Wellness Coordinator Jordan Goto.

The Narcan supply at schools can be used to aid anyone in the community that may need support whether at school or in the immediate vicinity.

As BVSD has shared previously, there has been an increase in drugs tainted with dangerous fentanyl. Our partners with Boulder County Public Health (BCPH) reported earlier this year that many of the Xanax and Oxycodone 30 mg pills that are currently being circulated in the community are likely from Mexico.

RELATED STORY: Parents please be aware of these drug dangers

BVSD took action last spring by ordering Narcan through the State of Colorado’s bulk purchasing program, and it just arrived last month. School nurses and emergency response teams began training in September on opioid overdose recognition and the use of Narcan. In late November, when the medication arrived, it was distributed to BVSD schools and additional hands-on training was provided.

According to BCPH, the overdose of an 18-year-old from Boulder began a string of 2021 deaths tied to fentanyl. Since then, 13 more fentanyl overdoses have been confirmed and the causes of six other deaths are pending the results of toxicology tests.

RELATED STORY: The Colorado Sun: Colorado’s fentanyl crisis is surging, but only two school districts have ordered doses of the opioid antidote

“We applaud the schools that have a Narcan program and want to make clear that schools that make it available do not necessarily have higher statistics of overdose, but rather are being proactive in preventing overdoses,” Andrés Guerrero, manager of the overdose prevention unit at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, told the Colorado Sun. “Prevention is key as we are seeing increases in overdose due to fentanyl in the Colorado drug supply.”

Signs of overdose include:

• Not responsive to sound or pain
• Not breathing
• Blue lips or fingertips
• Loud gurgling sounds

Narcan can reverse the effects of a drug overdose from opiates, including heroin and prescription opiates, such as Percocet or Oxycontin. Overdose prevention kits are available from Boulder County Public Health as well as some local pharmacies, without a prescription. Visit BoulderCountyNarcan.org for a map of pharmacies that carry it.

While the Boulder Valley School District strongly discourages drug use and shares information about substance abuse prevention on the website, it’s important to provide the following overdose prevention recommendations to the community from Boulder County Public Health, The Works Program website:

• Carry Narcan. Narcan can revive and save lives, but always call 911 if you suspect someone has overdosed. Colorado has the Good Samaritan Law - you will not be charged with a crime if you call 911. You could be charged if you leave the scene.
• Never use drugs alone. You can’t be saved if you are alone.
• Unless you picked up your own prescription at the pharmacy, don’t trust the strength.
• If you choose to use drugs, start small with a low dose. You can always add more but you can’t subtract.
• Test drugs using fentanyl strips. However, if it doesn’t alert to fentanyl it doesn’t mean it’s not there, it can still be in another untested part of the pill or another unknown synthetic.

BVSD understands the need to have Narcan available in schools and to do its part to keep students and the community safe. Anyone interested in acquiring training and obtaining Narcan for themselves can reach out to Boulder County’s Substance Use Advisory Group - this includes community members, BVSD staff and students.

Narcan is available for free for public acquisition at Boulder County Public Health, CU students’ Wardenburg Health Center, local pharmacies without a prescription and is covered by most insurance plans.

This press release was produced by the Boulder Valley School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.