Latest news with #Narcan
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Being smart on crime' leading to downtrend of overdoses
TUNKHANNOCK, WYOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— A local community is doing its part to combat the opioid epidemic by handing out a potentially life saving drug Narcan. It's a medication that counteracts the effects of opiate related overdoses. Wyoming County District Attorney Joe Peters, along with his community awareness group, set up shop in Tunkhannock in an effort to get this potential life-saver in as many hands as possible. For years, Wyoming County has been putting up a fight against the opioid epidemic through community events like this one. DAs share crime trends in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties The anonymous drive-through event hopes get Narcan in the hands of as many residents as possible, something District Attorney Joe Peters calls being 'smart on crime'. 'We just want to get Narcan out there. It's like a fire extinguisher. There's one in every building because, you're not trying to encourage a fire, you're trying to have something there to stop the fire,' said District Attorney Peters. Inside the kits, Narcan and instructions on how to administer it. Narcan is a nasal form of the drug naloxone. It binds with opioid receptors in the brain to reverse the effects of an overdose. The drug is not harmful to the user. 'That's the magic and the miracle of this drug,' expressed District Attorney Peters. While opioid related deaths are on the downtrend here in Wyoming County, District Attorney Joe Peters says distribution events like this one are crucial to continuing the fight against opioid abuse. One woman attending the event tells me she lost her brother to a fentanyl overdose only a few years ago. She says she wishes resources like these could have been available then. 'I think not only being aware that this, you know, is in our communities, this fentanyl, but being knowledgeable that there are things like Narcan that can make a difference,' said Mary Scarpa, Tunkhannock. She says now, she carries Narcan wherever she goes just in case someone needs it. 'If the situation ever occurs that, you know, I can help somebody out then I certainly would like to. It is really difficult to lose somebody to an overdose and so I don't wish that upon anybody,' expressed Scarpa. Peters says he hopes to have more Narcan distribution events throughout Wyoming County in the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Overdose deaths prompt response from Police Chief
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum wants people to remain vigilant when it comes to drug overdoses. The chief spoke with reporters today following three deaths in the past few weeks believed to be related to overdoses. So far in 2025, drug overdoses have killed seven people in Sioux Falls, with an 8th suspected case awaiting toxicology tests. SFPD: 7 confirmed overdose deaths so far in 2025 'When we look at these drug cases, I think sometimes we hear terminology, like hey it's a bad batch, or its a hot batch, the reality is with the drugs we are dealing with in this day and age, there is no such thing, they are all bad batches, said Thum. At this time last year the city had ten deaths linked to drug overdoses. Emily's Hope founder Angela Kennecke looks at the drop in deaths so far, as a small victory. 'Overdose deaths actually decreased by 20 percent. I think that is a good thing. However, of course, the eight tragic deaths and how those have impacted families and friends, that's awful. And I want to see no deaths at all, but to have the numbers going down, I think that's fantastic,' said Kennecke. Kennecke's nonprofit, Emily's Hope, has distributed more than a thousand doses of Naloxone, also called Narcan, statewide in the past year. Kennecke says people are relaying information to her that they have already prevented several overdoses. 'So I have had separate people approach me, at different times to tell me that Naloxone has saved someone's life. The Naloxone they got from an Emily's Hope distribution box,' said Kennecke. Those public Naloxone distribution boxes are placed in strategic locations throughout South Dakota. Kennecke says Naloxone is a tool, not a cure. 'So we also offer a post-overdose response team for people who have survived an overdose to connect them with the resources that they need. It has to be followed up with the right kind of care to treat substance abuse disorder,' said Kennecke. Chief Thum agrees, it's what happens after an overdose that can lead to change. 'If you are not dealing with the root cause, if you are not dealing with people who have that demand for that narcotic and some of those issues that are there, it's a multi-faceted approach that has to be taken,' said Thum. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Drone814 partners: Johnstown test run 'just the beginning'
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Moments after John Eberhardt fell to the turf Friday at Trojan Stadium, a drone was hovering overhead to lower medical supplies. It was just a drill. But Eberhardt, the managing director for ATA Aviation, and other partners in the Drone814 initiative hope the scenario will be saving lives statewide and creating jobs in the years ahead. ATA Aviation, Aerium, and Virginia-based DroneUp deployed a trial run of their Drone814 concept at Greater Johnstown High School – in front of the school-aged audience they hope will be piloting and maintaining those drones one day soon. The test run signals upcoming live trials this summer that will see remote medical drone operators work with 911 dispatchers to deliver Narcan, EpiPens and other supplies to real-life emergency scenes across Greater Johnstown. "This first demonstration is just the beginning," Aerium Executive Director Glenn Ponas told a crowd of approximately 60 students, educators and emergency responders Friday. "Not only can these drones save lives ... but drones can be a key part of any (career) field," he said. "It's going to allow people to make a living with drones, and we're going to do it right here in Johnstown." Building a workforce The Drone814 initiative has been underway for several years through a partnership between Aerium, the Cambria County Department of Emergency Services, the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission, and companies in the drone industry. The aim is to show that dispatching medical drones to certain emergency scenes can lead to faster treatment, quicker recovery times and lower medical costs while creating local jobs, project partners have said. Greater Johnstown School District Superintendent Amy Arcurio announced Friday that Greater Johnstown students will be able to pursue that career path this fall – and obtain a drone operator's certificate by the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year. Teens are already passionate about drone technology, and over just one school year, they'll be able to graduate with the training needed to find well-paying jobs that support Johnstown's burgeoning aviation industry, she said. "The sky isn't just the limit – it's just the beginning," Arcurio said. Ponas said Aerium's efforts with Greater Johnstown and other partners will enable that workforce to grow quickly and attract companies to Cambria County. Eberhardt can attest to that. Demonstration, driving growth Eberhardt is already moving his small Virginia business to a space inside Nulton Aviation Services in Richland Township. As Drone814 and a regional operation network launches in Cambria and Somerset counties, it will create opportunities for more drone-related enterprises, he said. They illustrated the concept on a small scale Friday, using a mock phone call to 911 to deploy a drone from Greater Johnstown's parking lot into an end zone on Trojan Stadium's football field. How Drone814's medical deliveries would work A medical supply delivery demonstration is conducted by Drone814 at Greater Johnstown High School. A drone operator worked quietly from a truck nearby as the buzzing drone dropped off its package, which contained color-coded boxes of supplies for different emergencies. The kit – not much bigger than a lunchbox – was lowered onto the field with a cable. Now, project partners have to show the world the method works from miles away. Through a more than $1 million test phase and federal airspace approval, Ponas said, medical drone flights will make history next month when operators start testing them outside their line of sight. Given the fact that every second counts, Drone814 wlll save lives, said state Rep. Frank Burns, D-East Taylor Township, noting that rural locations and rugged Cambria County terrain can often pose challenges for local ambulance responders. Deliveries this summer won't just provide medical aid. Data reports from each flight will track response times and patient outcomes to enable Drone814 to make its case to the nation – and to Medicare – that the concept is a worthy one, project partners said. Support for responders Drone814 partners plan to work with the county and Conemaugh Health System to compile that data and see how the cost to provide care and recovery rates compare to traditional methods. But during a question-and-answer session with the public Friday, Eberhart and Ponas stressed that the medical drone deployment won't take the place of ambulance dispatches. They'll only support them, Eberhart added. When county 911 dispatchers take an emergency call, they will follow the same state-approved questioning scripts they already use to diagnose the nature of an emergency. If the incident involves a possible overdose, cardiac event or traumatic bleed, for example, they'll continue to dispatch the nearest available ambulance while also contacting DroneUp pilots to deploy a drone, Eberhart said. County dispatchers are already trained to walk callers through stressful emergency scenarios and to locate and use medical devices such as the opioid overdose-reversing medication Narcan, a tourniquet or a defibrillator, said Eberhardt. The only difference is that it will be a drone lowering a package of supplies from the skies, he said. Next steps, 'big deal' Drone814 partners said they'll be spending the coming weeks preparing for their real-life trial runs. County dispatchers will receive training in June, and Drone814 partners will gather feedback from them to help fine-tune the partnership before installing additional training, they said. Sensors working in tandem with drone software will need to be installed across the city of Johnstown, Ferndale, East Conemaugh and the West Hills, ATA Aviation officials said. If results from this summer's test phase support their efforts, a second, expanded phase in the region would follow in 2026, Eberhardt added. "The plan is to listen to stakeholders" and learn from each step in the process, said DroneUp Vice President of Business Development Greg James. "We're going to improve as we go." Burns and Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky praised the initiative and its sky-high potential for the region. "This isn't some pie-in-the-sky idea," Burns said at the event. "This is going to be a big deal for (Greater Johnstown)." "This project is about more than drones," Chernisky told The Tribune-Democrat following the demonstration. "It's about investing in our people, preparing for the future and showing what's possible when public safety, education and innovation come together."
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Johnstown students preview drone emergency service program
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — Community members and students at Greater Johnstown High School saw a preview of the newest advancement in emergency services. Aerium, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a pipeline between students and the aerospace industry, demonstrated how one of its drones can deliver medical supplies to an emergency site. The drone service is part of a pilot program called Drone 814, which will soon come to the Johnstown, Westmont and Southmont areas. 'Today's event was an opportunity for us to display to the public the first demonstration,' Glenn Ponas, executive director of Aerium said. Showcase for Commerce returns to Johnstown convention center Once someone calls emergency services, the drone will head over to the site with a package full of supplies, featuring tourniquets, glucose for diabetics, Narcan for drug overdoses and electric defibrillators for heart failures. Once arrived, the dispatcher on the phone will instruct the patient to use the supplies until paramedics arrive on scene. 'We want to ensure that we are getting first response faster and that the outcomes for patients are better,' Ponas said. 'So once the 911 team gets there, the end result is that we have better patient outcomes at the end of that.' Test flights are set to begin in the first week of June and continue into the summer. Drone 814 expects to release a regional rollout plan in October. Click here to view the plan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mobile help for opioid overdoses rolls into south suburbs with aid of Cook County $1M grant
Family Guidance Centers offers medications to people meant to counteract the effects of opioid overdoses from a clinic. But whether it's access to transportation, child care needs or physical limitations, the nonprofit knows there are many people who need the lifesaving drugs but can't get to the clinic, said Ron Vlasaty, Family Guidance Centers' chief operating officer. With the help of a Cook County grant of nearly $1 million, Vlasaty and county officials celebrated the rollout of a van that will bring the medications to more than two dozen south suburbs. The program was announced Friday during a news conference outside the Posen Fire Department's headquarters, with the new van and another already in use by Family Guidance Centers parked outside. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said while opioid overdose fatalities are 'trending in the right direction,' the problem is still of major concern. 'This crisis is everywhere,' Preckwinkle said. 'This is a challenge we have all over the country, not just in Cook County.' With the rollout of the van, a refurbished ambulance, residents will no longer need to overcome transportation or access issues, she said. We are 'able to deliver the care and services right where they are,' Preckwinkle said. The van is equipped with a nurse, peer recovery support specialist and outreach staff to deliver care directly to communities most affected by the opioid crisis, according to the county. It carries methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone, FDA-approved medications for opioid and other drug overdoses. Family Guidance Centers' other van delivers naloxone, also known as Narcan, which can revive a person suffering an opioid overdose, Vlasaty said. Posen police Chief William Alexander said opioid overdoses are one of the most urgent challenges faced by first responders. 'We are losing far too many lives to addiction and senseless violence,' Alexander said. Preckwinkle said, with the rollout of the van, health care officials are working to operate in a backdrop of possible federal spending cuts that would help their efforts. The nearly $1 million grant to Family Guidance Centers comes from the county's allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We see at the federal level a discouraging and alarming willingness to cut health care services,' Preckwinkle said, vowing Cook County will continue to provide services to those in need. 'If someone needs help we want to make sure they get it,' she said. Deborah Sims, former Cook County commissioner for the 5th District, which includes many south suburbs, said 'this is a good day.' Sims said that in delivering health care, agencies 'always want people to come to us.' 'If we can take it to the community it's always better for us and better for the residents,' she said. The grant program is part of the county's Stronger Together initiative, a countywide effort focused on behavioral health equity, system coordination and the expansion of community-based care, according to the county. The county grant to Family Guidance Centers is spread over three years, and the mobile unit will operate Monday through Friday. Tom Nutter, chief behavioral health officer with the Cook County Office of Behavioral Health, said opioid addiction affects people from the very start, creating a dependency that requires increasing amounts of drugs. For those with addictions, Nutter said their day 'begins with how will I get the drug and how will I pay for it?' Nutter praised Family Guidance Centers for its work, saying they bring 'unquestionable dedication' to the job. The Cook County Office of Behavioral Health was established by the county in 2023 to address the behavioral health needs of county residents, particularly those from historically marginalized and underserved populations. Vlasaty said that the Family Guidance Centers operates 14 locations in Illinois, including eight in Cook County. He said the Harvey clinic takes in residents from many south suburbs, but people can't always get to that location. Vlasaty said the van will be able to go to patients' homes or central locations, such as village halls and police and fire stations, to distribute medications. He said the nonprofit already distributes naloxone, which can help revive someone suffering an opioid overdose, to south suburban police departments through a smaller van it purchased with help of a previous county grant. Family Guidance Centers also has a naloxone distribution point at Harvey's Pace bus station, established about a year ago. He said it needs to be refilled every couple of days and was done in conjunction with the county and Pace. Vlasaty said Family Guidance Centers will put up informational posters at municipal buildings, liquor stores, gas stations and food pantries 'and wherever people congregate' to publicize the new mobile unit. 'We need to get the word out to where people are at to let them know this is available,' he said.
