Video: International Overdose Awareness Day
Springfield, Mass. — August 31st is recognized as international Overdose Awareness Day. The day serves as a way to raise awareness about fatal and non-fatal overdoses, educate the public, and encourage action and discussion around overdose prevention. It is also meant to recognize the grief felt by family and friends whose loved ones have been lost to addiction or have been permanently injured as a result of an overdose.
On this International Overdose Awareness Day, Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood is pleased to announce that the Springfield Police Department has saved 499 lives since beginning its ongoing Narcan program in March 2019. One of Superintendent Clapprood’s first initiatives was to outfit Springfield Police officers with nasal Naloxone (Narcan).
Narcan, an opioid antagonist, can quickly reverse the effects of a potentially fatal painkiller or heroin overdose by binding to opioid receptors and reversing or blocking the effects of other opioids, quickly restoring normal breathing. Narcan is not dangerous if administered to a person who is not overdosing and it has no potential for abuse.
In this video, Instructors at the Springfield Police Academy demonstrate how to identify an opioid overdose and how to property administer Narcan.