Health officials have found a new way to treat the opioid epidemic in Carter County, Tennessee. They are teaching children as young as six years old how to administer Narcan, which can help prevent an overdose from becoming fatal.
So, how are children being trained to reverse an overdose, exactly? The procedure was packaged as part of a murder mystery game set up with an interesting plot twist.
In the setup, the victim is a restaurant employee who is found dead inside of a freezer. The children had to search for the would-be killer. They would later discover the killer wasn’t actually a person, but instead, a drug — heroin laced with fentanyl.
A drug-prevention educator, Jilian Reece, then stepped in to explain the ongoing opioid epidemic to the children. She then taught them how to administer the overdose reversal nasal spray, Narcan.
“It’s just like a little squirt gun,” said Reece to the children, before she passed the plastic overdose device around so that each child could hold and squeeze it. The children were then sent home with a blue zippered bag containing two doses of Narcan.
Related: Nearly 60 Doctors and Medical Professionals Charged in Federal Opioid Sting
While the method might seem extreme, it shows how scores of communities have been ravaged by the ongoing opioid crisis. More than 400,000 Americans have died as a result of an overdose.
In Carter County alone, almost 60 people have died from opioid overdoses since 2014. During that year, doctors wrote 8.1 million painkiller prescriptions for the small county of 56,000 people.
County health officials have become desperate to save lives. Teaching children how to reverse an overdose is one strategy to help them avoid losing one of their parents or loved ones.
“Lots of people say children don’t need to think about these things,” said Ms. Reece. “But I’d rather a kid should go through the trauma of giving Narcan than see their parent die.”
Related: Fentanyl Deadliest Drug in America, Multi-Drug Overdoses Rising, CDC says
The region’s overdose-prevention specialist, Sherry Barnett, said that only three schools within eight counties have allowed her to provide Narcan training to students.
“We’re in the Bible Belt,” she explained, “and a lot of schools here don’t like to admit drugs are a problem.”
While most of the children are too young to grasp how complex the overdose issue is, they at least understand that what they’re learning can help them potentially save someone’s life, especially if they’re not able to attend drug rehab inpatient centers.
“Drugs are bad things that could kill you,” said Nash Kitchens, 7, who recently participated in the murder mystery game with other young children at a library. “Now I know how to use it. I feel good because I like helping people in danger.”
Related: Odds of Dying of Opioids Now Higher Than Dying in a Car Accident
