Millard Fillmore Suburban is the first hospital in the area to partner with the Erie County Department of Health to provide a two-hour training on how to recognize a possible opioid drug overdose and administer the life-saving drug naloxone (trade name Narcan).WBFO's Jay Moran spoke with Millard Fillmore Dr. Joshua Lynch about the opioid epidemic and this life-saving training...
Millard Fillmore Suburban emergency medicine physician, Joshua Lynch, D.O., has taken an active role in training first responders on the use of naloxone because of an increasing number of overdose victims turning up at local emergency rooms.
Dr. Lynch confirms opioid overdoses are a growing problem, indicating that since 2012 in Erie County there have been 100 opioid deaths per year with about 40 of those related to heroin.
"We're on target in Erie County to reach over 200 deaths this year in 2015," notes Dr. Lynch. "One of the lesser known facts is that over half of these overdoses occur outside the city of Buffalo."
Dr. Lynch notes nearly every police department within the county is trained on the use of naloxone.
The class at Millard Fillmore quickly reached maximum capacity. Dr. Lynch says they are planning to hold more classes. Each participant receives a free kit containing two naloxone doses provided by the New York State Department of Health to use in the event they encounter an individual with opioid overdose symptoms.
