Arlington County has three, free one-hour training sessions scheduled to teach people how to use Naloxone, the medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.
The virtual sessions will be held April 5, May 3, and June 7.
The training will teach you the basics about the opioid epidemic and how to recognize and respond to an overdose. Common opioids include prescriptions painkillers, such as oxycodone and morphine. Illicit drugs that are opioids include heroin and fentanyl.
At the training, you will receive a free sample of the drug that is also known as Narcan.
You may request a 10-minute abridged training over the phone. To register or request the shorter training, email [email protected].
According to the Virginia Department of Health, opioids were responsible for 9,901 emergency department visits and 1,478 deaths in 2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 82 percent of all opioid deaths in 2020 involved synthetic opioids. Nearly 92,000 overdose deaths that year involved an opioid.
Area school systems have had students overdose on opioids. Fairfax County last week had case where a student had to be hospitalized. In January, a Wakefield High School student died two days after an apparent overdose in one of the school’s bathrooms.
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