Paramedics in Orange County will leave behind Narcan for overdose patients

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Narcan has been used to save the lives of people overdosing on opioids for some time, but now, in Orange County, the life-saving medicine will be given to family and friends of people considered to be at "high risk" for an overdose.

Doctors said it’s highly unlikely something will go wrong when administering Narcan. They said if someone is not overdosing from an opioid, the Narcan won’t have any side effects.

County officials said since 2016, first responders have saved more than 260 lives with Narcan and they hope giving out the medicine to family and friends of users will save even more.

When paramedics respond to an overdose, they will leave the patient’s loved ones with one dose of Narcan and several flyers containing information about recovery.

That’s why the effort is being called “Leave Behind,” because the life-saving medicine will be left behind at the home just in case it ever happens again.

The fire chief also stressed the importance of still calling 911 when Narcan's being used, because sometimes the person who's overdosing needs more than one dose to survive.

A fire inspector in the fire marshal's office knows all too well the heartbreaking effects of the opioid crisis.

Chonda Hawkins lost her cousin to an overdose and said Narcan could have saved her.

"Narcan would be a tremendous help because while they're out and something happens with a drug overdose, it would help bring that person back so at least they can get help at the hospital,” said Hawkins.

First responders said it typically takes about one to three minutes for the person who is overdosing to wake up after they're given Narcan

The Narcan doses will be paid for with a $100 million state grant just awarded to Florida.

Cox Media Group