Walk, hot dogs and T-shirts: Wilkes raises awareness on opioid issues
Apr. 18—WILKES-BARRE — Fire up the charcoal, pile up the shirts and pace around the campus; The Wilkes University Pharmacy Club held its annual Opioid Awareness walk Thursday, coupled with the sale of hot dogs and shirts to raise money for the purchase of Naloxone (Narcan), the life-saving drug that rapidly counteracts opioid overdoses.
"April is Opioid Awareness month," Jaden Greco explained as students set up tables, arranged shirts and lit some charcoal in a large grill on the Fenner Quadrangle. She and co-organizer Brianna Honish were among those at work. "The walk allows students to call attention to the issue, and to the value of Naloxone."
The Naloxone bought with the money raised will be donated to the Wilkes-Barre Fire Department, which Greco noted is often "the first responders to administer the drug," which can quickly reverse deadly effects of an overdose like slowed breathing.
Learning about Naloxone applied both with intramuscular injection or an atomizer (as the fire department uses) is part of the training at the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy, she added, along with training in clinical, pain management and substance abuse pharmacy work.
The full name of the club is the American Pharmacists Association, and the Wilkes chapter met before the walk around campus began. Students in the walk or just passing by were welcome to buy a hot dog, some baked goods or a T-shirt. The event ran from 11 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m.
