In an effort to save lives, the Campbell Police Department recently trained all of our officers to administer Narcan nasal spray (brand name for Naloxone). Narcan is an emergency substance that counteracts the life-threatening effects of an opioid overdose. This training and the initial supply of Narcan was made possible due to our partnership with Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services who were instrumental in facilitating the new program.
On August 3, 2017, at approximately 9:00pm, Campbell officers responded to the Walgreens Pharmacy located at 1570 W. Campbell Avenue. The initial information provided by employees of the store was that there was an unresponsive man in the bathroom suffering from some type of medical emergency.
Officer Leitz and Officer Cooper arrived and found a 22 year old man slumped over on the floor. Lying next to him were approximately 20 syringes. Based on their experience and the training they received from Behavioral Health Services, the officers recognized that he was most likely suffering from an opioid overdose.
The officers then administered the Narcan nasal spray to the man who became alert within 10-20 seconds. The Santa Clara County Fire Department arrived to continue medical treatment and the man was transported to Valley Medical Center. He was released several hours later from the hospital after fully recovering from the overdose.
This incident was the first time that Campbell Officers have deployed Narcan and were able to save a life because of the Opioid Overdose Prevention Project.
While opioid overdoses rarely occur in the City of Campbell, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. Opioids (including prescription opioids and heroin) killed more than 33,000 people in 2015, more than any year on record. Statistics show that 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.
