City To Request More Naloxone From State For Overdoses
February 17, 2023 at 11:46 p.m.
City To Request More Naloxone From State For Overdoses
By David [email protected]
This year, he told the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety on Friday, he’s going to request more doses. The board approved for Fancil to apply for the state grant.
“We’ve done this multiple times. Former Chief (Mike) Wilson started this. You apply through the State Health Department. They allow you to apply for this Narcan grant,” Fancil said.
He said a person can look up the Indiana State Heat Map on Naloxone (https://www.in.gov/health/overdose-prevention/naloxone/naloxone-administration-heat-map/) and it will show where Narcan is being given throughout the state.
“The state wants to track that so they know where to put their resources, where to put their money, where they can try to do the most good,” Fancil said. “But part of that is, we apply for the Narcan grant. I’m going to try to apply for I think it’s 350 doses this time. It’s been 300. It started out at 200, I believe, in the beginning.”
If they receive the grant - which Fancil was confident they will - it will be no cost to the city other than the WWFT will be the distribution hub for first responders, public safety, courthouse security, home detention, EMS, fire and police throughout the county to provide them with the Narcan they need to help folks who need it.
“Just for reference, last year our department alone gave Narcan to 40 different patients. And we only give it when there’s an airway problem, they’re not breathing or they’re not breathing well enough to sustain life. So, really, that’s 40 times that Narcan has been given - sometimes not successfully - to help these people who are suffering from an overdose of an opioid,” Fancil stated.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said he recently saw on the television news where Naloxone is being considered as an over-the-counter (OTC). “How do you see that impacting emergency services if that happens?”
Fancil said he understands why they want to make it OTC as there’s a huge problem with the opioids.
“My comparison would be, and I hate to say it this way because it sounds really mean, but if people don’t get the counseling that they need to deal with their problems, and get the support and the structure that they need to get out of that rut, it’s almost like saying you can jump off the roof of this building and have no repercussions other than get the excitement of the jump. And I think that’s where we’re failing a little bit,” Fancil said.
While he stated he wasn’t an expert on the subject, “We deal with a lot of overdoses and it seems like the part that they’re missing - but they have to be willing to accept - is the counseling and the help that we’re trying.”
He said the Kosciusko County community is trying. “We just had a meeting yesterday with some county folk talking about opioid funding. This county and community are trying really hard to help these people. And we’re making headway, but we’re still - 40 times last year, this department gave Narcan to save lives,” Fancil said.
He said there’s a lot of programs out there and they’re all trying to focus on the same thing from different angles, “but it doesn’t seem to be getting better.”
Thallemer asked if Naloxone becomes OTC if the distribution will become different than what the state is doing right now. Fancil said he doesn’t believe so because the State Health Department is using the program to track where Narcan is being used so it can determine where resources are needed.
Fancil said he knows of departments that have had 70 overdoses in a weekend. “It’s ridiculous,” he said.
“This is just another piece of the puzzle for us. I think we’re lucky that the State Health Department wants to help us with this grant, because if we had to go out and purchase 350 doses of Narcan, it would be cost-prohibitive,” he said.
Fancil also requested the board accept a $7,500 grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation - which the board did - to assist the CARES (Community Assistance Resources Emergency Services) program with setting up a resource page on the internet and a phone app to better organize the available resources in the county. CARES is a program through the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory to assist those in need of mental health and other services.
“It’s a QR-coded website and a phone app all in one, so that we can put housing assets up there, food, mental health counseling, just different resources we want to put together,” Fancil said. “We have found that ... with the CARES program, we found a lot of people have lists of resources, but they’re not connected. So we want to bring all those players to the table and put them in one spot through this app and this website.”
He doesn’t have a contract back yet from 1Eighty Digital for the website and app, but he said the total cost will be about $7,800, so “our expense would be about $300 to put that together. I think for what we’re getting out of that, that is a great investment of our $300 and we’re lucky that the Foundation is on board with us, wanting to help us put this together.”
Thallemer said, “This is a big part of the CARES program. When we identify someone who is in need of resources in the community, the idea is to try and make that referral at that level when the CARES makes that contact with the individual.”
He said Fancil has worked hard to try and put together a list of resources in one easy-to-use place. “This is a big part of the program,” Thallemer said.
The board approved contracting with 1Eighty Digital for the website and app.
Finally, the board approved:
• The continued support of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team, as requested by Fancil.
He said the request was to pay a two-year membership fee of $260 with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.
“What this gains us is access to discounted classes and resources, and it keeps us affiliated with them so we can follow their guidelines on how we go out and do crisis management, critical incident stress debriefings and defusings,” Fancil said.
• The fee agreement and employment letter for 2023 legal services provided by Beers Mallers LLP to the WWFT and board. The rate is $150 per hour with a retainer fee of $500.
• A Zoll Medical Corp. preventative maintenance contract for $1,120 for 2023. A service representative from Zoll Medical comes to the stations and performs preventative maintenance on all of the Z-series Zoll cardiac monitors. The devices take blood pressures, measure pulse oximetry, monitor heart rates, perform EKGs and deliver defibrillation if needed.
“We probably use those monitors more than any other piece of equipment on the fire trucks, given that most of our calls are medical in nature,” Fancil said. “... We want to make sure they’re working as they’re supposed to.”
The WWFT board approved all the matters presented to the Board of Works Friday at their Feb. 7 meeting.
This year, he told the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety on Friday, he’s going to request more doses. The board approved for Fancil to apply for the state grant.
“We’ve done this multiple times. Former Chief (Mike) Wilson started this. You apply through the State Health Department. They allow you to apply for this Narcan grant,” Fancil said.
He said a person can look up the Indiana State Heat Map on Naloxone (https://www.in.gov/health/overdose-prevention/naloxone/naloxone-administration-heat-map/) and it will show where Narcan is being given throughout the state.
“The state wants to track that so they know where to put their resources, where to put their money, where they can try to do the most good,” Fancil said. “But part of that is, we apply for the Narcan grant. I’m going to try to apply for I think it’s 350 doses this time. It’s been 300. It started out at 200, I believe, in the beginning.”
If they receive the grant - which Fancil was confident they will - it will be no cost to the city other than the WWFT will be the distribution hub for first responders, public safety, courthouse security, home detention, EMS, fire and police throughout the county to provide them with the Narcan they need to help folks who need it.
“Just for reference, last year our department alone gave Narcan to 40 different patients. And we only give it when there’s an airway problem, they’re not breathing or they’re not breathing well enough to sustain life. So, really, that’s 40 times that Narcan has been given - sometimes not successfully - to help these people who are suffering from an overdose of an opioid,” Fancil stated.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said he recently saw on the television news where Naloxone is being considered as an over-the-counter (OTC). “How do you see that impacting emergency services if that happens?”
Fancil said he understands why they want to make it OTC as there’s a huge problem with the opioids.
“My comparison would be, and I hate to say it this way because it sounds really mean, but if people don’t get the counseling that they need to deal with their problems, and get the support and the structure that they need to get out of that rut, it’s almost like saying you can jump off the roof of this building and have no repercussions other than get the excitement of the jump. And I think that’s where we’re failing a little bit,” Fancil said.
While he stated he wasn’t an expert on the subject, “We deal with a lot of overdoses and it seems like the part that they’re missing - but they have to be willing to accept - is the counseling and the help that we’re trying.”
He said the Kosciusko County community is trying. “We just had a meeting yesterday with some county folk talking about opioid funding. This county and community are trying really hard to help these people. And we’re making headway, but we’re still - 40 times last year, this department gave Narcan to save lives,” Fancil said.
He said there’s a lot of programs out there and they’re all trying to focus on the same thing from different angles, “but it doesn’t seem to be getting better.”
Thallemer asked if Naloxone becomes OTC if the distribution will become different than what the state is doing right now. Fancil said he doesn’t believe so because the State Health Department is using the program to track where Narcan is being used so it can determine where resources are needed.
Fancil said he knows of departments that have had 70 overdoses in a weekend. “It’s ridiculous,” he said.
“This is just another piece of the puzzle for us. I think we’re lucky that the State Health Department wants to help us with this grant, because if we had to go out and purchase 350 doses of Narcan, it would be cost-prohibitive,” he said.
Fancil also requested the board accept a $7,500 grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation - which the board did - to assist the CARES (Community Assistance Resources Emergency Services) program with setting up a resource page on the internet and a phone app to better organize the available resources in the county. CARES is a program through the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory to assist those in need of mental health and other services.
“It’s a QR-coded website and a phone app all in one, so that we can put housing assets up there, food, mental health counseling, just different resources we want to put together,” Fancil said. “We have found that ... with the CARES program, we found a lot of people have lists of resources, but they’re not connected. So we want to bring all those players to the table and put them in one spot through this app and this website.”
He doesn’t have a contract back yet from 1Eighty Digital for the website and app, but he said the total cost will be about $7,800, so “our expense would be about $300 to put that together. I think for what we’re getting out of that, that is a great investment of our $300 and we’re lucky that the Foundation is on board with us, wanting to help us put this together.”
Thallemer said, “This is a big part of the CARES program. When we identify someone who is in need of resources in the community, the idea is to try and make that referral at that level when the CARES makes that contact with the individual.”
He said Fancil has worked hard to try and put together a list of resources in one easy-to-use place. “This is a big part of the program,” Thallemer said.
The board approved contracting with 1Eighty Digital for the website and app.
Finally, the board approved:
• The continued support of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team, as requested by Fancil.
He said the request was to pay a two-year membership fee of $260 with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.
“What this gains us is access to discounted classes and resources, and it keeps us affiliated with them so we can follow their guidelines on how we go out and do crisis management, critical incident stress debriefings and defusings,” Fancil said.
• The fee agreement and employment letter for 2023 legal services provided by Beers Mallers LLP to the WWFT and board. The rate is $150 per hour with a retainer fee of $500.
• A Zoll Medical Corp. preventative maintenance contract for $1,120 for 2023. A service representative from Zoll Medical comes to the stations and performs preventative maintenance on all of the Z-series Zoll cardiac monitors. The devices take blood pressures, measure pulse oximetry, monitor heart rates, perform EKGs and deliver defibrillation if needed.
“We probably use those monitors more than any other piece of equipment on the fire trucks, given that most of our calls are medical in nature,” Fancil said. “... We want to make sure they’re working as they’re supposed to.”
The WWFT board approved all the matters presented to the Board of Works Friday at their Feb. 7 meeting.
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