BURIEN, Wash. — Educators at Highline High School in Burien are credited with saving the life of a teenage student who was experiencing an overdose on campus.
According to administrators within Highline Public Schools, the school's dean first observed the overdose in progress. From there, school security was alerted, as well as Highline High School's nurse.
From there, naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, was administered to the student, who was successfully revived.
FROM MARCH |Narcan could be available to counter fentanyl overdoses at every WA public school
"It was huge that they remembered their (drug overdose) training," said Catherine Carbone Rogers with Highline Public Schools. "They did everything they were supposed to do."
According to district administrators, Highline Public Schools has a policy on using naloxone for opioid-related overdoses on school campuses. The district started stocking it in its high schools in 2020 and expanded it to middle schools during the 2022-23 school year.
"We know this is a growing problem in King County and all over the country and we just wanna be prepared," Rogers said.
Opioid-related drug overdose deaths in Washington have risen dramatically, particularly among young people, according to Washington's Department of Health. Rates of opioid-related fatalities among juveniles aged 14-18 have increased from 3.6 per 100,000 individuals in 2016 to 10.6 per 100,000 individuals in 2022, a DOH study found.
The increase is mostly attributed to the increase in synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl. The powerful opioid fentanyl has been showing up in marijuana, illicit pills and other substances accessible to school-age children, experts said. Fatal overdoses in the U.S. are at record levels, fueled by fentanyl, and have been increasing among younger people, national data shows.
Narcan is a safe and effective medicine that can reverse the harmful effects of an opioid overdose, according to the DOH. The DOH also said Narcan is available in a nasal spray that can be given to anyone of any age during a suspected opioid overdose and has no harmful effects, even if opioids are not present in the system.
The DOH said it's partnering with Educational Service Districts with the intent to offer public and alternative high schools two kits of intranasal naloxone. The DOH said the offer is voluntary and also supports the statewide law that requires school districts with 2,000 or more students to stock at least one set of opioid reversal medication in each high school.
Smaller school districts may also choose to obtain and maintain naloxone in their schools, according to the DOH.
The National Association of School Nurses has advocated for naloxone to be in all schools since 2015 and for school nurses to help educate their communities about the signs and symptoms of substance abuse.
The association created a "tool kit" for school nurses that includes information on administering naloxone and educating the community about opioid problems. The kit has been downloaded from its website more than 49,000 times, the group said.