More departments in region eye equipping officers with Narcan to treat overdoses

Police were the first on scene when Ryan Kroh overdosed on heroin in August 2010, but by the time paramedics injected him with the drug that reverses the opioid's deadly effects, it was too late.

Had the officers — who arrived five minutes before paramedics — carried the drug, Kroh would have survived, his mother believes.

“The brain begins losing brain cells after only four minutes, which is why response time is so critical,” said Terri Kroh of Rosslyn Farms.

Health and law enforcement officials in Allegheny County are working to equip police officers with naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, to administer to suspected opioid overdose victims.

“When you're responding to an overdose, you don't know how long the victim has been there,” said Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held. “Every second counts.”

The drug, available in hospitals and to EMS for decades, has become more prevalent as heroin-related deaths increase dramatically. In Allegheny County, 256 people died from overdoses in 2014, more than twice the overdose deaths reported in 2000. In Westmoreland County, 87 people died in 2014, nearly four times the number in 2002.

“These are lives worth saving,” said Dr. Neil Capretto, medical director of Gateway Rehabilitation Center. “As long as there is life, there is hope. Once the person dies, you've lost your opportunity.”

Narcan, available in a prepackaged nasal and syringe form, wipes opioid molecules from brain receptors to send users into sudden withdrawal. It doesn't harm someone who has not overdosed on opioids. Its cost is about $20 per syringe.

Federal officials have suggested training and equipping first responders with the drug. In September, U.S. Attorney David Hickton in Pittsburgh recommended making Narcan available to EMS providers, police officers and firefighters.

Pennsylvania is among at least 24 states allowing expanded use of Narcan, with a law preventing those who respond to and report overdoses from being prosecuted, and making friends and family members of people at risk of overdosing eligible for a prescription.

The change in state law last fall prompted Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. to begin working with Indiana Township police Chief Robert Wilson to train and equip each of Wilson's 15 officers with Narcan.

“Having that law is big,” Wilson said. “I don't know that any police agency would be able to take the step if the law didn't hold us harmless.”

Wilson said his township of 7,500 residents does not have many overdoses, but “if we can ... save a life, it makes it worthwhile.”

Pitcairn police began carrying Narcan ahead of the state law, and Medical Rescue Team South Authority is working to train and equip police in its coverage areas of Whitehall, Mt. Lebanon, Dormont, Baldwin Township, Green Tree and Castle Shannon.

Westmoreland County Sheriff's deputies began carrying Narcan in December; Philadelphia officers will carry it soon.

Pittsburgh EMS Chief Mark Bocian, whose paramedics have carried Narcan for at least 20 years, said there has been talk of equipping city police officers, but no timetable has been established. It makes more sense for suburban and rural officers to carry Narcan because “in some communities, the ambulance is a fair distance away,” Bocian said.

Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Karen Hacker considers Narcan a “valuable tool” in combating deaths caused by overdoses of heroin, Oxycontin, morphine and fentanyl.

Gateway Rehabilitation soon will distribute Narcan to patients upon their release. Hacker sees benefits in distributing it to addicts who get clean in jail and are released. Relapses among addicts are common, and many people who go back to using don't realize their tolerance has diminished, Capretto and Hacker said.

“It's not going to stop people from doing drugs, but it may prevent them from dying,” Hacker said.

Terri Kroh had a Narcan syringe with her the night her son died and regrets she wasn't with him when he overdosed.

“I will forever wish I could have been his first-responder,” she said.

Adam Brandolph is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-391-0927 or abrandolph@tribweb.com.