The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and the Department of Education (SCDE) have partnered to provide schools with opioid overdose reversal medication.
Following the recent passage and signing of House Bill 4122, schools have been authorized to use life-saving medications with set guidelines. For the upcoming 2023-24 school year, schools can use naloxone (Narcan) nasal spray, albuterol inhalers, and previously approved epinephrine auto-injectors like EpiPen.
“Naloxone is the lifesaving medication we hope no school nurse or trained school staff person ever has to administer, but we are in the middle of an opioid epidemic and need to be realistic and prepared,” said State School Nurse Consultant Victoria Ladd in a press release. “While naloxone does not provide prevention for addiction, it can save lives when a person has taken too many opioid-containing drugs or medications so the person can live to get the help they need.”
Through collaboration with SCDE, naloxone is available for every K-12 school in South Carolina at no cost.
The initiative is attempting to address the rising drug overdose deaths in the state. Between 2020 and 2021, overdose deaths rose by over 25%, from 1,734 to 2,168, with opioids being the main cause.
The new legislation permits administering the medication to students, staff, parents, and visitors during school or related events.
For more details on naloxone/Narcan, visit the DHEC website’s opioid epidemic page here.