Emily's Hope, EMT react to proposed naloxone cuts
Emily's Hope recently announced plans to distribute 20,000 naloxone kits across South Dakota. While the non-profit's founder Angela Kennecke says Trump's proposed cuts won't impact that program, she worries the progress that has been made on stopping the opioid crisis could slow down.
'It's a good thing that the Trump administration renewed the opioid crisis as a public health emergency because it is, and it continues to be, but one of the reasons that we saw overdose deaths go down by about 25% nationwide is because of the mass distribution of naloxone and because every first responder has it. We don't want to go backwards on that. We just want to move forward, and we want to make naloxone widely available,' Kennecke said.
Jaime Bartell, EMS Lieutenant for Tea, says the possible cuts would directly affect the department.
'We use Narcan multiple times a year to help save lives in the community,' Bartell said.
And both Bartell and Kennecke say it's crucial for naloxone to be widely distributed.
'Narcan is one of those drugs that are able to be utilized in a dire situation. If we didn't have access to it, like when we didn't have access to epi (epinephrine), it's a very big scary thing for the community,' Bartell said.
'Let's make naloxone as available as possible,' Kennecke said. 'It's a simple life saving tool.'
Emily's Hope currently has 10 naloxone dispensers placed throughout South Dakota, including two at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls. For a full list on where you can find naloxone kits, click here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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