PERU,IN. On Friday afternoon, at approximately 5:45pm, Miami County Central Dispatch advised of an unknown medical issue in the 200 block of West Fifth Street. Peru Police Sergeant Samantha Raber was first to arrive, prior to other officers and Dukes EMS.
Sergeant Raber found an unconscious female lying in an upstairs bedroom. The female had a gray color to her. Due to her skin color and the look of her eyes, Sergeant Raber suspected a possible heroin overdose.
Sergeant Raber administered a dosage of Narcan to the female. Naloxone (Narcan™) is an opiate antidote which reverses an opioid overdose in much the same manner as an EpiPen (epinephrine injection) reverses an allergic reaction. Opioids include heroin and prescription pain pills like OxyContin, Percocet, methadone, and Vicodin. When a person is overdosing from an opioid, their central nervous system and respiration system is depressed and breathing slows or stops. Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids and reverses the effects of an overdose. Once EMS arrived, they also gave this female a dosage of Narcan. A short time later, the female began to regain consciousness.
It was later found that the female had in fact overdosed on heroin.
This was the seventh person who has been saved by Peru Police Department officers since they received training in the usage of Narcan in April of this year.
“Our officers have done an incredible job since we have received the training and the Narcan prescriptions. Our officers are many times the first to arrive on the scene of a medical call. Their quick assessment and their administering of Narcan has saved seven lives this year,” said Chief Michael Meeks. Those other officers include Lieutenant Dan Sofianos and Patrolmen Derek Rushforth, Geoffrey Wyrick, Keith Smith and Tyler Hagan.
For more information on Narcan, visit www.overdose-lifeline.org