21-year-old leads fight against opioid crisis
Ethan Healey spends his time working to prevent opioid overdoses, spread awareness of drug
WEST CHESTER » Ethan Healey is just 21 years old, but he is already known throughout Chester County as an authority figure on drug abuse and education.
Of several public service duties he performs in the county, probably the most prominent is his role as Law Enforcement Liaison/ Project Naloxone Manager at Good Fellowship Ambulance & EMS Training Institute. In this capacity, he serves as a central source for police departments and private citizens throughout the county, disseminating information about the abuse of opioid drugs, symptoms and treatment of opioid overdoses, and the proper administration of naloxone, a drug also known under the brand name Narcan, which is widely used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses.
But his job as Project Naloxone Manager is just one of the hats that Healey wears.
From 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Friday, Healey’s voice can be heard on the West Goshen Township police department radio as a full-time telecommunications officer. On weekends, he is likely to be found in the back of a Good Fellowship Ambulance aiding patients as a career emergency medical technician. On weekdays, prior to his gig at the West Goshen Police Department, Healey, a senior and full-time student at West Chester University, attends classes in business management.
On the subject of opioid addiction, Healey is a passionate and relentless advocate of education and training.” I believe in this cause. There are too many people my age who are dying from overdosing on opioids,” he said. “I want to educate as many people as possible about perils of opioid usage.”
Healey first became involved in the opioid problem three years ago when, at the age of 17, he learned about the passage of laws in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey which permitted police officers to carry and administer naloxone when they encounter an individual who appears to be suffering from an opioid over- dose. “The police are usually the first ones to arrive on the scene, which is about three minutes prior to the arrival of an ambulance,” he said. “Those three minutes are crucial in saving a person’s life.”
Upon learning of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey laws, Healey took it upon himself to create the program, now called Project Naloxone. In the early stages of the project, he recognized the need for a vehicle that could efficiently reach, and train, members of Chester County’s 46 municipal police department. To this end, Healey began work on an online training program.
Over the next 18months, while working on the online program, he met with the chiefs of every county police department to introduce himself and promote the benefits of the program. At last, the 18-minute training program was completed and activated. The program itself discusses the pros and cons of opioid use, what is naloxone, the symptoms of an opioid overdose, and how naloxone is administered.
In January 2015, East Brandywine Township Police Department became the first in the county to implement the naloxone program. Typically, a pre-filled vial of naloxone, along with a pair of gloves and a nasal mist device to administer the medication, are kept in an envelope in a police car’s glove compartment.
As part of the program, Good Fellowship Ambulance replaces the naloxone kits used by the county police departments at no cost.
Three months later, Healey expanded the program by creating Community Outreach, a program designed to educate the community on the use and abuse of opioids, symptoms, administration of naloxone and treatment services.
“Community Outreach,” Healey explained, “is geared toward parents who have or have had children who suffered from opioid addiction, people who have friends that are struggling, and people who are directly affected.”
In the first eight months of this year, 70 deaths have been ascribed to opioid overdoses in Chester County. On the other hand, Healey pointed out, since the inception of Project Naloxone in 2014, there have been 220 successful reversals. On average, Good Fellowship Ambulance alone responds to one overdose emergency call per day or 365 annually.
For his work in the area of opioid education and training, Healey has received recognition from the Chester County Association of Township Officials and the Chester County Police Chiefs Association.
Good Fellowship Ambulance is the only ambulance in Pennsylvania that runs this type of program through the ambulance corps, he explained. All other programs in the state are run through the local district attorney’s office.