SJSD elementary schools being equipped with Narcan

Apr. 6—Responding to the growing opioid crisis, the St. Joseph School District now is supplying each school in the district with Naloxone, also known as Narcan.

"We've had Narcan in our high schools and middle schools for about four years now," said Tammy Smith-Hinchey, the district's health coordinator. "This year, with the increase in opioid overdoses in communities around the United States, we just decided that it was time to also put the Narcan in the elementary schools."

Smith-Hinchey said providing elementary schools with the overdose reversal resource is a part of the district's emergency preparedness preparation plan.

Despite the worsening opioid crisis, Smith-Hinchey said the decision to equip elementary schools with Narcan is not due to a heightened concern of kindergarten- through fifth-grade-aged students using opioids.

"We haven't seen anything like that in elementary students but we just want to be prepared for any emergency that might happen," Smith-Hinchey said. "We also have parents, family members and other community members that come in and out of the buildings or that are at functions. So we just like to be prepared for any emergency that might happen on district property."

Smith-Hinchey said district officials decided to include elementary schools after the Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of over-the-counter Narcan.

"The goal is just to be prepared for anything that might resemble an opioid overdose," Smith-Hinchey said. "There has been an increase in the community, and so we just want to be prepared to save a life if we can."

All school district nurses are trained in Narcan administration, she said.

"We have a protocol that we follow, and we also use guidelines set forth by the National Association of School Nurses and also Missouri's School Nurse Association," Smith-Hinchey said. "We use those training guidelines and I also teach CPR first-aid to school district employees each month. I go through a Narcan training in that as well."

Smith-Hinchey said while Narcan is not an overall solution, she hopes to bring more awareness to the true issues behind the opioid crisis.

"I feel like just in the community and since the pandemic we've seen an increase in opioid overdoses," Smith-Hinchey said. "I find that really sad. I hope that we can start looking at the cause of opioid use and focusing on mental health more than just the reaction of giving Narcan when it's needed."

Sara Rooney can be reached at sara.rooney@newspressnow.com.