Cindy Koshatka, with Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Emergency Services, practices administering a nasal spray of the overdose-reversing drug Naloxone. Photo by Tim Peterson.
In 30 to 45 seconds, a single dose of the drug Naloxone can be the difference in whether someone experiencing an opiate overdose lives or dies.
Since October 2015, the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board has been offering “Revive!” training courses to the public for how to administer the antidote, in both nasal spray and direct-thigh-injection forms. In that time, they’ve trained 530 people, CSB Assistant Deputy Director Lyn Tomlinson said.
“A lot of people are learning about it,” said Lauren Krause, a Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Substance Abuse Counselor who led a training on May 3. “People are feeling empowered by this training, they’re learning how they can fight back and help the people they love.”
The training includes a discussion of overdose risk factors and myths, and how to visibly distinguish between an overdose and someone who is just high. With an unresponsive, potential overdose scenario, there’s a CPR-like progression of calling 9-1-1, checking the airway and giving rescue breaths before administering a dose of Naloxone.
Once the one-hour training session is over, trainees have an opportunity to get a prescription for Naloxone filled right at the CSB.
Revive! training classes are offered twice a month at the Merrifield Crisis Center at 8221 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive in Fairfax and the Gartlan Center, 8119 Holland Road in Alexandria. For more information, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/csb.
The evening of the May 3 training, Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) hosted a Town Hall meeting with other elected officials and law enforcement to discuss the scope of the heroin and prescription opioid drug problem in Fairfax County.