Though there has not been an overdose in ETSU’s residence halls, the Department of Housing and Residence Life isn’t taking any chances.
Two weeks ago, they installed naloxone – the drug that reverses the effects of opioids on the brain – in all the campus’ residence halls. There is one dose inside of each automated external defibrillator, which is meant to increase its accessibility.
“There’s definitely a possibility [we’ll have to use it] considering the reputation of this area and the prevalence of opioid abuse,” said first year resident advisor Michaela Brewer.
Associate Director for Residence Life Adrianna Guram said the training was given to RA’s as “part of the campus commitment to education around issues of opioid addiction in the region.”
RA’s will also be offered open trainings throughout the year, with the first scheduled for Sept. 26. The trainings, Guram said, are part of a collaboration between Housing and Residence Life and the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy and Generation Rx.
On Aug. 14, the three organizations trained about 70 resident advisors on how to identify the signs of an opioid overdose and how to administer the naloxone, better known by its brand name, Narcan. ETSU’s naloxone is administered as a nasal spray.
“The training was very straightforward,” Brewer said. “It wasn’t very hard, and the trainers were very knowledgeable and took the time to answer any remaining questions we might have had.”
More than 1,000 Tennesseans lost their lives to an opioid overdose in 2017, with nearly 100 of those occurring in Northeast Tennessee, including two dozen in Washington County alone, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. Tennessee is also fourteenth in the nation in opioid-related overdose deaths, according to drugabuse.gov.
“I think as RA’s, it’s important to learn anything you possibly can that could potentially save a life,” Brewer added.
