PORT ANGELES — The number of lives saved by a heroin overdose antidote is quickly adding up in Port Angeles.
City police administered naloxone to help resuscitate five patients who were experiencing potentially fatal overdoses between March 22 and Monday, interim Police Chief Brian Smith said.
All told, there have been 13 lives saved since the agency received a supply of naloxone auto injectors through a grant in March 2015, police said.
Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that temporarily blocks the effects of heroin or opioid-based prescription pills.
It can prevent overdoses from becoming fatal by reversing the depression of the central nervous and respiratory systems, allowing the patient to breathe long enough for paramedics to arrive.
Officer Brian Stamon responded late Monday to a report of an overdose at Veterans Memorial Park on Lincoln Street and found a man with shallow breathing and a very weak pulse, police said.
Stamon administered two doses of naloxone before the patient was taken to Olympic Medical Center.
Port Angeles Fire Department paramedics gave the man a third dose on the way to the hospital, police said.
On Saturday, responding officers found a man in his 20s who was turning blue and had a needle in his hand.
Officer Kyle Cooper administered one dose of naloxone before fire department paramedics assumed life support care, police said.
On Friday, Cooper and Officer Clay Rife responded to a reported heroin overdose on the 900 block of West Lauridsen Boulevard and found a man lying on his back in the door of an apartment.
A bystander had initiated CPR to the man, who had a weak pulse and was not breathing.
Cooper administered one dose of naloxone, and within one minute, the patient began to breathe on his own.
Similar saves occurred March 22 and March 24, Smith said.
He added that a potent supply of heroin may be contributing to the recent saves.
Police received 64 naloxone auto injectors in March 2015 through a grant from Kaléo.
The Virginia pharmaceutical company provided a second batch of naloxone after the first supply expired.
More needed
“We’re actually in need of replacements,” Smith said Thursday.
Unless the grant is renewed, police will look to purchase a batch of naloxone that is administered as a nasal spray.
Naloxone nasal spray costs between $30 to $40 per dose compared to the $300-per-package auto injectors. The spray also has a longer expiration date.
“We’re committed to the program,” Smith said.
At least 15 additional lives have been saved from opioid overdose since Clallam County Public Health began offering naloxone through its syringe exchange program last July, public health officials have said.
U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, whose 6th Congressional District includes the North Olympic Peninsula, has called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand grants and programs that make naloxone more available in rural areas.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.