Board OKs Narcan for use by nurses in middle/high schools

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City Health Dept. Director Tim Soucy, left, and AMR General Manager Chris Stawasz field questions from the school board Monday night.
City Health Dept. Director Tim Soucy, left, and AMR General Manager Chris Stawasz field questions from the school board Monday night.

MANCHESTER, NH – The Board of School Committee on Monday approved a measure to equip school nurses in junior and senior high schools with Narcan, an over-the-counter remedy which can reverse the effects of a heroin overdose.

Prior to the vote, the Board heard from City Health Director Tim Soucy and AMR General Manager Chris Stawasz, who answered a barrage of questions from board members.

School Superintendent Dr. Debra Livingston submitted a letter to the board in support of the measure, citing the “unprecedented epidemic” in the city. She also cited statistics provided by AMR that in 2015 there were 726 suspected overdoses resulting in 83 fatalities.

She added in the letter that Narcan would be provided by the city Health Department at no expense to the school district.

Board Vice-Chair Arthur Beaudry, of Ward 9, favored the measure, saying he would not want to “lose a life because we were worried about repercussions so minute.”

“It’s no different in my mind, if we believe it’s a disease, then we should have tools to help people with the disease, like diabetes or peanut allergies or diabetes. It’s an important issue. I wouldn’t want someone to die on school grounds, knowing we could have saved a life.”

Soucy told the board that, to date, there has not yet been an opioid overdose on school grounds.

Ward 8 Alderman Erika Connors said she had heard from constituents on both sides of the issue, and after speaking to firefighters and nurses herself, had lingering concerns about leaving nurses with no recourse in the event of an overdose.

“Our nurses have a duty to act. Nurses can’t do that, they can’t wait for 911. They need to do rescue breathing or CPR, and for me, I consider that to be a bigger risk to our personnel than Narcan,” Connors said.

She and other board members said they had concerns that overdose victims could become combative after being revived from an overdose. Some board members agreed that having protocols in place, like placing students in lockdown and requiring additional adults to be present before Narcan is administered, would be important.

Stawasz told the board that average response time for AMR to an overdose call is four to five minutes, adding that CPR and/or rescue breathing is effective in reviving someone about 20 percent of the time.

At-Large board member Richard Girard pressed Stawasz on whether CPR would be sufficient to save a life during a four to five-minute gap.

Stawacz said it depended on the individual circumstances, and that estimated arrival time does not include the time it might take for rescuers to reach an overdose victim in a remote area of a school building, post-arrival.

“I’m comfortable having Narcan in my child’s school,” Stawacz said.  “That’s a decision you all have to make. As an emergency responder, it’s an additional tool.”

Stawacz went on to say that the biggest risk in schools right now in his opinion is children bringing pills from their parents’ medicine cabinets to sell to fellow students, and possibly ingest on school property.

Ward 10 board member John Avard said if Narcan were allowed in schools, he would want  full enforcement of the “drug-free school zone” ordinance so that drug addicts don’t regard school property as a safe place to use drugs.

Other board members also speculated that by having Narcan on school property it might act as an invitation to residents who are not school students to seek help for an overdose.

The measure was approved by a 10-4 vote, with Sarah Ambrogi, Art Beaudry, Dan Bergeron, Erika Connors, Debra Langton, Nancy Tessier,  Connie Van Houten, Leslie Want, and Mayor Gatsas voting yes; John Avard, Rich Girard, Mary Ngwanda, and Ross Terrio voted no. Board member Lisa Freeman was not present.

The measure would include anyone on school grounds in need of assistance.

Mayor Ted Gatsas advised the board that, although he “didn’t disagree” with Avard, it is his understanding that the new Good Samaritan law would prevent police from arresting anyone on school property, whether they overdosed or called in an overdose.

“Then I can’t support it,” Avard said. “If it were only available to our children, that would be different. Because it does create a safe zone … and I don’t want anyone to think it’s safe to come to our schools and knock on the door for help. I don’t want anyone dying, but I don’t want anyone thinking our schools are a safe place for drugs; they are about protecting and educating our children.”


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About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!