The document discusses efforts by Washington State University College of Pharmacy to address the growing problem of opioid overdose through education and training about the opioid reversal drug naloxone. Fourteen student pharmacists were trained to educate others about naloxone and how to recognize and respond to opioid overdose. They recruited and trained over 150 students, with most trainees feeling prepared to assist in an overdose and willing to recommend the training to others. The training involved demonstrations of naloxone administration and practice responding to overdose scenarios. The goal is to increase widespread access to naloxone kits and training to help reduce drug overdose deaths.

1. Save-A-Life: Prevent Opioid Overdose with Naloxone
1. Washington State Department of Health. Drug Abuse and Overdose.
http://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/5500/RPF-Drg2014.pdf. Updated
March 2014. Accessed April 14, 2015.
2. University of Washington Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute. Opioid trends across
Washington State. http://adai.uw.edu/pubs/infobriefs/ADAI-IB-2015-01.pdf.
Updated April 2015. Accessed April 14, 2015.
3. Drug Policy Alliance. Expanding Access to Naloxone: reducing fatal overdose,
saving lives. http://www.drugpolicy.org/resource/expanding-access-naloxone-
reducing-fatal-overdose-saving-lives. Updated: April 2012. Accessed April 14,
2015.
4. The Oregonian. Washington heroin use, deaths increase, especially among
young people. Published: June 12, 2013. Accessed April 14, 2015
Drug overdose is a serious and growing problem in the
United States. Over 100 people die every day from a drug
overdose in the United. The rates have tripled since 1990
and increased over 140 percent from 2000 to 2008. In
Washington State, over 600 deaths occur annually from
drug overdose. Illicit drugs, such as heroin, is not the
primary factor for the growing crisis. Prescription drug
overdoses, to opioids such as oxycodone or hydrocodone,
kill more people than illicit drugs combined. Naloxone is a
highly effective and safe medication that can reverse opioid
drug overdose and help to save a life. In order to reduce
opioid overdose deaths in Washington State, Washington
State University (WSU) College of Pharmacy has created an
innovative large audience naloxone training model based
off the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHS) naloxone toolkit to educate and
train college aged students on how to identify and prevent
drug overdose.
Dr. Shannon Panther presented information about
naloxone and her research project which focused on
increased awareness about opioid overdose and reversal.
Fourteen student pharmacists felt compelled to teach
others about naloxone as a worthwhile endeavor and
thus became a team of advocates and trainers. Through
multiple meetings held over the course of three months,
each student pharmacist learned about naloxone: how it
works, how to use it, its impact in communities across the
country, and how to recruit those who are not in the
healthcare field to be trained in its use. Due to the many
diverse experiences of each student pharmacist, the team
members were able to present the information about
naloxone to others that struck a chord and an interest to
learn more about opioid overdose prevention and the
life saving effects of naloxone.
 150 students were recruited for WSU’s Save-A-Life
Naloxone Safety Net Project.
 74 students were trained
 28 responded to a follow-up email sent six months after
the training
 Of those respondents
o 93% said they felt they were prepared to assist
someone with drug overdose
o 96% said the training helped them recognize signs that
an individual is at risk for drug overdose
o 100% said they would recommend the training to
others
o 75% stated they had educated others about naloxone.
Providing drug overdose education and naloxone kits to students is just one step in the process to make naloxone widely available to the
public. In the future, we would like to see naloxone kits and education provided to people at higher risk for overdose (such as people in
opioid Treatment Programs). Naloxone kits would also greatly benefit rural areas because of the slower emergency response time. We hope
to someday see widespread access to naloxone kits and training programs. In the meantime, raising awareness and providing education
about naloxone is small, but important step, in the fight to decrease deaths caused by drug overdose.
Staging and Recruitment: Intending to grab a passerby’s
attention, the WSU pharmacy team staged an overdose on
the Pullman campus using a mannequin in a body bag,
police tape and a squad car. Student pharmacist discussed
the scene with others bringing awareness to the problem
Promotional pens resembling syringes and flyers containing
a website link were handed out which training information
and to address questions.
Training day: The program began with a naloxone
presentation given by Dr. Panther. Naloxone has been
around since the 70’s, the only difference now is the delivery
system. Nasal administration technique is easy to do,
requires less training, and no chance of needle stick
compared to intramuscular injection. Following the
presentation, each pharmacy student then took a group of
participants’ and led them in a hands on breakout session.
Participants practiced noxious stimuli, such as sternal rub,
checking for symptoms of overdose, and placed each other
in a rescue position. Kit assembly was demonstrated in the
small groups and the participants used the nasal atomizer to
know how it feels. At the end of the breakout, each
participant received their own naloxone rescue kit. The kit
included, two doses of naloxone, a nasal atomizer, a rescue
breathing face shield, and an easy to read brochure of the
information covered with pictures for reference in an
emergency.
Naloxone Pictures: http://jqgphotography.smugmug.com/Naloxone Photographer: Jacque Garza