Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
‘I’M VERY HUMBLED’
Ethan Healey, who serves as the project manager for the Narcan program, receives the first Chester County Association of Township Officials President’s Award for Meritorious Service
In a surprise award, an EMT was awarded for his work toward the Narcan project in Chester County.
Ethan Healey received the first Chester County Association of Township Officials (CCATO) President’s Award for Meritorious Service on Thursday during the organization’s fall conference at the Mendenhall Inn in Kennett Township. CCATO president Ernie Holling explained that the award goes to an individual or an organization that performs an outstanding service for the residents of Chester County.
“His hard work and commitment makes him a very worthy recipient of this first CCATO President’s Award,” Holling said.
Healey, 20, of West Chester, is the project manager for the Narcan program and Law Enforcement Liaison at Good Fellowship Ambulance and EMS Training Institute. In that role, Healey worked to make Narcan available to every police vehicle in the county as well as training officers in the administration of the anti-opioid overdose medication. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a drug that temporarily reverses the symptoms of an opioid over--
dose.
Healey also worked with legislators to make Narcan generally available without prescription and assure that individuals administering Narcan are protected by Good Samaritan laws.
“Ethan’s determination to make Narcan available throughout Chester County has resulted in more than 90 cases since January 2015 where the administration of
Narcan has reversed the effect of a potentially deadly opioid overdose,” Holling said. “His focus is now on educating and deploying Narcan in schools throughout the county, to increase awareness, and potentially to save even more lives.”
Holling organized the surprise award. Healey said he was “touched” that Holling and many others worked to honor him without him knowing they would.
“I was surprised. I wasn’t expecting it,” Healey said. “I’m very humbled.”
Healey expressed gratitude
to the Chester County Drug and Alcohol program, as well as the Police Chiefs Association for helping with the project. He said it was a “huge step” in getting all county police departments to carry Narcan.
According to Healey, Narcan has been used 96 times this year in Chester County with 91 of them life-saving efforts. When he first started the project, he said he “never foresaw the impact on the community.”
To accomplish his next goal, Healey is working with State Sen. Andrew Dinniman to get Naloxone
into schools. Dinniman, D-19, of West Whiteland, recently announced that three high schools in Chester County – Avon Grove High School, Conestoga High School and Oxford Area High School – have been provided with Naloxone free of charge under a new state initiative.
This was the first award that Healey received outside of the organizations he works with on the Narcan project.
Several elected officials also surprised Healey with certificates of special recognition for his contributions
to the county, including: Dinniman, on behalf of the Pennsylvania Senate; state Rep. Dan Truitt, R-156, on behalf of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives; and Robert Kagel, director or Emergency Services at Chester County, presented on behalf of the Chester County Commissioners. Holling presented certificates in the absence of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., on behalf of the United States Senate and U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-6, on behalf of the United States House of Representatives.
Healey is a student at West Chester University, a telecommunications officer with the West Goshen Police Department and board director at Good Fellowship. He achieved certification as a Pennsylvania State Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) instructor in 2014 following certification as an EMT at 16.