The following is a press release issued by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office:
On 10-14-2023 at approximately 7:01 P.M., a Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputy was on-duty and learned of a medical aid call regarding a subject possibly overdosing in a vehicle which was traveling northbound on Highway 101 towards the city of Willits, California.
The Deputy parked on South Main Street near the South Bypass in the event the vehicle were to exit on the South Main Street freeway exit. A short time later, the Deputy saw a white Mercedes-Benz sedan exit the freeway and begin attempts to flag down the Deputy.
The Deputy contacted the three occupants of the sedan and noticed an adult male passenger was unresponsive, diaphoretic (sweating) and had a large amount of mucus emitting from his nostrils. The Deputy also noticed the adult male appeared to have very shallow to no breathing at all.
Fearing the adult male was suffering the beginning stages of a potential lethal drug overdose, the Deputy administered multiple doses of Narcan. The adult male responded to the administered Narcan, and medical personnel arrived shortly thereafter and began providing additional medical treatment.
In April 2019 the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) began to issue NARCAN® (Naloxone HCI) nasal spray dosage units to its employees as part of their assigned personal protective equipment. MCSO’s goal is in protecting the public and officers from opioid overdoses. Access to naloxone is now considered vital in the U.S. The Center for Disease Control. At that time, the California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard reported Mendocino County ranking, per capita, 3rd in all opioid overdose deaths. (https://discovery.cdph.ca.gov/CDIC/ODdash/). Refer to dashboard for current updated ranking information. Narcan nasal spray units are widely known to reverse opioid overdose situations in adults and children. Each nasal spray device contains a four milligram dose, according to the manufacturer. Naloxone Hydrochloride, more commonly known by the brand name NARCAN®, blocks the life-threatening effects of opioid overdose (both medications and narcotics) including extreme drowsiness, slowed breathing, or loss of consciousness.
The antidote can reverse the effects of an overdose for up to an hour, but anyone who administers the overdose reversal medication in a non-medical setting is advised to seek emergency medical help right away. The spray units can also be used by Public Safety Professionals who are unknowingly or accidentally exposed to potentially fatal amounts of fentanyl from skin absorption or inhalation.
The issuance of the Narcan nasal units, thus far, have been to employees assigned to the Field Services Division, Corrections Division and the Mendocino County Jail medical staff. Employees are required to attend user training prior to being issued the medication.
Sheriff Matthew C. Kendall would like to thank Mendocino County Public Health for providing the Narcan nasal units to the Sheriff’s Office free of charge as part of the Free Narcan Grant from the California Department of Public Health.
Since the April 2019 issuance, there have now been (18) eighteen separate situations wherein Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Staff have administered NARCAN and saved the lives of (18) eighteen overdosing individuals in need of the lifesaving antidote medication.
In October 2021 the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a grant from the California Naloxone Distribution Project through the Department of Health Care Services to help maintain an inventory of the live saving antidote.
The 192 dosage units have been distributed to the Field Services Division and Corrections Division as previous inventories from Mendocino County Public Health had been exhausted.
Sheriff Matthew C. Kendall would like to thank the California Naloxone Distribution Project through the Department of Health Care Services for awarding the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office with the Naloxone grant to better help protect his employees and the public.
Let us not forget that fentanyl is routinely given to women in labor
The fentanyl used in medical/surgical settings is not the same as the fentanyl made and distributed on the street. In medical/surgical settings the fentanyl is pharmaceutical grade and the amount given is standardized (down to the microgram) and controlled by an anesthesiologist. Respiratory function is closely monitored.
The street version of fentanyl is made/cooked by untrained people and it “stepped on” multiple times and is often mixed with various other substances.
Both are incredibly powerful opiates, however, the one used in medical facilities is very different than the fentanyl on the streets.
Great work by this Deputy! Heart disease and diabetes are often lifestyle-related. Defibrillators and insulin are both life-saving interventions for these types of illnesses. Narcan is no different. EVERYONE is somebody’s son or daughter. Regardless of how they ended up near death, everyone deserves a chance to keep living.
There are literally medical and insurance codes for addiction. Addiction IS a brain disease. NOT a choice. There aren’t medical codes and insurance codes for choices.
Addiction is a disease caused “literally” by using drugs. Using drugs is a choice and the cure is to go through the process to stop using drugs. Which is also a choice.
Claiming that there are not choices involved in the problem and solution- is false, and counterproductive.
Brad, Jake’s example still stands. Heart disease and diabetes are caused, literally, by eating bad food. A choice? Ask a fat kid trying to loose weight.
Yes, Dolores, eating bad food is a choice.