Healing Springs Family Support Services update during COVID-19 interim
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Family Support Navigator Brendan Norton M.S., CRC at Healing Springs Recovery Community and Outreach Center has reached out to the community to make people aware of the continuum of services available to those struggling with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) during the COVID-19 outbreak and related closures.
Norton reports that normally the numbers of overdoses reported in New York State were 3-6 on a daily basis. He states that from Thursday March 5 to Friday, March 6, over a two-day period alone, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office responded to 30 overdoses, three of which proved fatal in the City of Saratoga Springs and surrounding areas.
He issued the following advisory to families and friends of those addicted to opioids:
“I am the Program Director of Healing Springs Opioid Overdose Prevention Program, which started in December of 2018. Since then, we have dispensed over 1000 Narcan kits into the community. I travel around Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties doing group and individual trainings.
“One of the main reasons I started the program was because of families having loved ones who were struggling with Opioid Use
Disorder (OUD). With OUD there certainly comes the risk of having an overdose, but with the proper training and having the Narcan in their possession families feel empowered that they can potentially save their loved one’s life, if the situation calls for it.
“I’ve always felt it is better to have it and never use it than to need it and not have it.”
“As far as Healing Springs is concerned, we are temporarily closed starting March 16 until further notice due to Covid-19 pandemic. Our services will still continue, they will just be in a different capacity. I have confirmed with many of the inpatient treatment providers we utilize that they are still accepting clients. We are still able to get access to our insurance navigator who can enroll individuals into Medicaid managed care plans.
“We are also still able to provide one-on-one peer support with one of our Certified Recovery Peer Advocates (CPRA) and family support by utilizing video conferencing. Some of the online resources we are giving people is an app or website called In the Rooms (www. intherooms.com). Here people can access any type of meeting they are looking for, both for individual and family recovery. It acts as a chat room does and people can talk about recovery to others around the country.
“People can still call the center 518-306-3048 and the calls will be directed to the appropriate individual. Individuals are also utilizing different web based platforms so they can video chat meetings rather than meet in person. People are still finding ways to get their recovery despite the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Each one of those 1000 kits can potentially represent a life that is saved and given the opportunity to get help. A typical group training lasts about one hour and we go into depth about what an overdose is.
“We all have opioid receptors in our bodies. When too many opioids bind to the receptors, it begins to slow our involuntary drive to breath. When our breathing slows too much our heart eventually stops beating and that is when a fatal overdose occurs.
“When Narcan is administered, it has a stronger affinity to the opioid receptors than the opioids do, so they knock the opioids off the receptors and block them from re-binding to the receptors. The effects of the Narcan, however only last 20-90 minutes so there is the potential for an individual to go into a 2nd overdose, so we always encourage people experiencing overdoses to seek medical attention.
“We then move into recognizing the signs of an opioid overdose. Since an overdose is essentially respiratory arrest, an individual’s lips and fingertips may appear blue or purple, due to the lack of oxygen. You also may not notice the person’s chest rising and falling, like it does normally and you may not be able to feel their breath.
“We then move into the administration of the Narcan. The first thing I always encourage individ
uals to do is to call 911. This way medical attention can be dispersed to the scene immediately. It is then very simple to use. The Narcan we dispense is a 4mg nasal spray and I teach the three P’s; peel, place and press. (see attached illustration).
“Narcan is only effective against opioid overdoses. It will only work if a person is overdosing on an opioid which include prescription pain killers, as well as heroin and fentanyl. I always teach people that if you suspect someone is in an active overdose situation to always err on the side of caution and administer the Narcan.
“It will not be effective against other drugs such as benzodiazepines, cocaine, alcohol etc … It is an extremely safe medication and will do no harm if it is administered and it is not an opioid overdose. There are no known drug interactions or allergies and is safe to administer to adolescents and pregnant woman.”
Classes are given regularly at Healing Springs during normal operations, as well as a host of recovery meetings and related services during the coronavirus interim, visit the Healing Springs Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HealingSpringsRCOC/.