Warren B. Ryder, Chief of Police
520 Massachusetts Ave.
Boxborough, MA 01719
http://www.boxborough-ma.gov/police-department
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Boxborough Police Deploy Nasal Narcan in All Cruisers
Board of Selectmen Approves Lifesaving Measure at Meeting Monday
BOXBOROUGH — Police Chief Warren B. Ryder is pleased to announce that the Boxborough Board of Selectmen has voted to approve the roll-out of Nasal Naloxone (Narcan) in all police cruisers.
Every sworn member of the department is also involved in a comprehensive training program, conducted by Sergeant Warren O’Brien, on the proper administration of Narcan as a potential lifesaving measure for opioid overdose patients. Sergeant O’Brien has been certified, after working with Dr. Daniel Muse of Brockton Hospital, to train other officers in the administration of Nasal Narcan.
“While Boxborough has not suffered through a fatal overdose in recent years, our officers responded to five non-fatal overdoses last year. Now, especially in cases where an ALS ambulance is delayed of unavailable, BPD officers will have the training and equipment to immediately treat an overdose,” Chief Ryder said.
Through grant funding, the department has obtained a sufficient quantity of the opioid antagonist, which has the power to quickly reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. It has few side effects and does not cause harm if it is administered to a person who has not overdosed on opioids. It is administered nasally and does not use needles/sharps.
Today, opiate overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in Massachusetts. Fatal and nonfatal overdose can result from the abuse of opiates such as morphine, heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone (as found in OxyContin, Percocet and Percodan), and hydrocodone (as found in Vicodin). Narcan is proven effective against heroin and all other opioid drugs.
The Boxborough Police Department is among the first of the law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts, and one of only a handful in the United States, to equip its officers with the means and training to medically reverse opiate overdoses.
“I am pleased that the officers of my Department have embraced this initiative, as they recognize that it is in keeping with our core mission to protect human life,” Chief Ryder said.
The Boxborough Police Department is authorized to outfit its officers to administer Narcan under M.G.L. c. 94C and M.G.L. 258C.
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