Public high schools to get anti-overdose kits

School trustees voted 6-4 to stock schools with emergency medication, train staff to use them

WATERLOO REGION — Public high schools will stock emergency anti-overdose kits, but education trustees are holding off on putting the kits in elementary schools.

The medication naloxone, administered by nasal spray, temporarily reverses the effects of an overdose of an opioid drug such as fentanyl or heroin.

Overdoses are unlikely at schools, public health officials say. On Monday, public school trustees voted 6-4 to put the emergency kits in high schools and train staff to use them, after choosing not to do so last February.

“I think it would be naive of us to think it won’t or it couldn’t happen at a school,” said trustee Cindy Watson, who has led a year-long call to stock schools with emergency medication. “If it does, we’re prepared.”

School procedure is to call 911 if an overdose is suspected. Stocking anti-overdose kits at schools saves precious minutes in response time, Watson argues.

Trustee Scott McMillan voted against stocking the medication.

“I would rather see the money and training go into educating our students into what an overdose looks like and how to prevent it on a Friday or Saturday night when they’re at a party,” said McMillan, who chairs the board. “That’s when it’s most likely to happen.”

Suspected drug overdoses have killed 37 local residents this year. The pace is down 42 per cent compared to 2017 when 85 residents died of suspected overdoses.

In the first six months of this year, local paramedics did not administer naloxone to anyone under 20. Youths accounted for just six per cent of opioid-related calls for ambulances, public health data shows.

Most overdose-related calls and most naloxone administrations are for patients aged 20-34.

Catholic schools do not stock anti-overdose kits. “The school board is very confident that calling 911 remains the safest and most effective response should an opioid overdose happen at or near a school,” said John Shewchuk, spokesperson for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board.

Paramedics would get there within minutes with the medication, Shewchuk said. The school response would require multiple steps: reporting the incident to the office, accessing the kit from a secure location, and finding a trained staff member to administer the dose.

“Of course, circumstances can easily change, and our schools may one day require naloxone kits,” he said.

The public school board may resume debate on emergency kits in elementary schools after receiving more information about ambulance responses to rural schools.

The estimated cost to stock high schools could exceed $31,000, but will likely be less depending on training, McMillan said. Stocking elementary schools with emergency kits may cost another $58,275 or more.

School staff will decide when schools get the kits.

Drawing on a revised curriculum, public school teachers have been aiming to discourage or delay drug use, to stop children from becoming addicts.