North Texas — The opioid crisis continues in our communities and there is overwhelming pressure to combat it.
This is something that the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth actively supports.
“We are also seeing accidental overdoses from people who don’t realize that the pills they get from a coworker or a friend or someone at school may be laced with fentanyl,” said Theresa Wagner, an associate professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth.
With funding from the City of Fort Worth, HSC is beginning a series of training sessions on the dangers of Narcan and how to respond to them.
“Narcan is a medication that reduces the effects of opioids in the body,” Wagner said. “It neutralizes the opioids in the body, so it can at least temporarily save the patient from an opioid overdose until emergency medical personnel can arrive.”
Once trained in this, participants will be able to educate other communities and organizations – the concept is “training the trainers.”
Wagner said the organization will be provided with training materials, 24 two-dose cartons of naloxone, 60 drug disposal bags and a virtual train-the-trainer toolkit.
In some cases, you may even be eligible for a $1,500 incentive from the university.
Interested organizations should:
- Plan and host a naloxone training event in the city of Fort Worth.
- Ensure you have a suitable training venue with PowerPoint, audio and visual capabilities.
- A minimum of 24 participants must be recruited to receive full payment.
- Ensure that online registration and pre- and post-training assessments are completed for each participant.
- The option to request virtual reality training for any type of provider on having difficult conversations with patients when addiction is suspected.
- Please submit a request for payment within 30 days of training.
“I think it’s going to make a big difference in terms of how many people it reaches,” Wagner said.
To find out more or to apply for training, click here.
