Naloxone training sessions for businesses planned

The Downtown Business Improvement Area and the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce are partnering to offer another round of naloxone training for businesses in Peterborough later this month.

The naloxone training will be held on Nov. 18 and 19 at the Venture North Building at 270 George St. Only nine people will be allowed during each session and each session will take about 20 minutes. The training is free and naloxone kits will be provided for those who wish to take one upon completion.

“We wanted to be able to do what we could to help educate and fight the stigma and empower our members,” said Terry Guiel, executive director of DBIA Peterborough.

“We saw recently somebody die in the bathroom of the police station,” he said. “It rings loud that it can happen anywhere.”

After training sessions were held last year for about 60 downtown businesses, Guiel said he partnered with the Chamber of Commerce to cover more areas of the community.

The training aims to have more people who can administer life-saving naloxone in drug overdoses, said Stuart Harrison, president and CEO of the

Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce.

“The entire concept of having naloxone available is proximity,” Harrison said. “Businesses are obviously nearby and if they have naloxone and are properly trained there is opportunity for them to intervene and potentially save a life.”

A pharmacist will train participants to administer both the nasal and injectable naloxone to help save lives.

“When they attend the sessions, our pharmacist is legally able to train and hand out a naloxone kit,” Guiel said. “She will do a 15- to 20-minute session teaching people how to use the naloxone kit.”

Most people prefer the nasal naloxone compared to the injectables, he said.

“She (the pharmacist) will teach them and afterwards, they will be given a naloxone kit and some pamphlets and a sticker to place on their business door,” Guiel said.

With sessions over two days, another 55 people are expected to be trained, he said.

Harrison said learning how to administer naloxone is just as important as knowing CPR to help save a life in need.

“It is important if you have an opportunity to essentially know what you are doing,” Harrison said.