CAMDEN COUNTY, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Bus drivers in some Camden County school districts are now trained to administer Narcan in case of an opioid overdose. County officials want every district on board.
So far, five districts have bus drivers trained to use Narcan in case of an emergency. County health officer Dr. Paschal Nwako wants every driver to be prepared. “We need to train more. We hope to train all the school districts,” he said, “so we are begging, begging, begging for them to come and be trained.”
It only takes about a half-hour to train someone how to use the drug to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Stacy Kendall, who has driven for the Black Horse Pike Regional School District for a few years, says this training gives her comfort knowing she can help save a life if needed.
“We’re on the roads, we’re driving. When it comes down to it, we’re the only ones that have the potential to save lives, even within two or three minutes of the police being there, we have this available for us to administer before,” said Kendall.
The kits provided to bus drivers don’t cost much and are being paid for with money provided by the state from a settlement with opioid manufacturers.
County officials say it’s not that school buses are common places for an overdose. There’s just one tragic instance county officials spoke about from last year. Still, their goal is to install Narcan kits everywhere they can to stop unnecessary deaths.