Local law enforcement officers are saving lives thanks to a TriCounty Health Department grant that is equipping them with NARCAN kits. Utah ranks 7th in the nation for drug overdoses and every week 6 Utahns die from an opioid overdose, shares TriCounty Health representative Jeramie Tubbs. “There has been a marked increase in opioid overdose rates locally, resulting in the need to equip emergency responders with the means for an opioid overdose reversal.” NARCAN kits can be used to try to reverse the effects of known or suspected opioid overdoses in children and adults. Tubbs applied for a grant from the Utah Department of Health to provide the overdose kits to local emergency responders and local lives have already been saved as a result. On Tuesday, Roosevelt City Police Department thanked TriCounty Health and others that have donated NARCAN kits for their officers use. They recognized two of their officers, Officer Pete Butcher and Officer TJ Bird, who recently were called to an opiate overdose and were able to successfully administer doses of NARCAN and revive the patient. The kits have also been distributed to other local law enforcement agencies.
