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Huntington Health Launches Free Fentanyl Education Program, Covers What To Do If Someone Overdoses

Published on Friday, January 27, 2023 | 6:29 am
 

Photo of Narcan Evzio Naloxone nasal spray opioid drug overdose prevention medication. [Shutterstock]
Huntington Hospital has launched a free fentanyl education program to educate the community about the dangers of fentanyl poisoning.

An outreach team headed by Huntington-affiliated emergency department physician Ted Peck and clinical pharmacist specialist Evan Adintori will be conducting free seminars for parents at local schools, and for the public at community centers and libraries. 

The first of these seminars will be held on Saturday, Jan. 28, starting at 11 a.m. at Lamanda Park Branch Library, located at 140 S. Altadena Drive in Pasadena.

Emergency Department Physician Ted Peck, MD (l) and clinical pharmacist specialist Evan Adintori, PharmD, BCPS (r)

The free seminars will cover the pervasiveness of fentanyl in the community and what to do if someone overdoses. Dr. Peck and his team will also provide information about Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids. 

Training for administering Narcan for fentanyl poisoning is offered as well.

“Fentanyl is making its way into things like cocaine, adderall, MDMA, Xanax etc.,” Dr. Peck said. “People can get these things from drug dealers as well as online through social media. Many of these drugs are laced with fentanyl, and a user may be thinking they are using something like Xanax, which only very rarely causes overdose. When a counterfeit medication like this is laced with fentanyl, this medication can become immediately lethal to the user without his or her knowledge.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said 107,375 people in the United States died of drug overdoses and drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending in January 2022. Of these deaths, a staggering 67 percent involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl. 

“What’s more dangerous is the fact that many of these deaths were due to unintentional overdoses – people didn’t know they were ingesting the fatal substance,” according to the CDC. 

Although Pasadena is not yet as hard hit as some other communities in terms of fentanyl overdoses, Dr. Peck believes “it would be a mistake to wait for this crisis to begin causing large loss of life in Pasadena before educating our patient population.”

“An ideal time for education is before a crisis hits. We see this crisis unfolding around us, and I think it is crucial that we proactively protect our community by educating them and giving them the tools that they need in order to protect themselves and their loved ones.” 

Peck added the problem of fentanyl poisoning is that it’s misunderstood, because people are used to thinking about drug overdoses in terms of IV drug users intentionally injecting too much heroin or addicted patients taking an excessive dose of prescription opioids.

“All age groups are affected, but now fentanyl poisoning is a significant cause of death in people aged 18 to 45, and this age group is becoming broader on the younger end,” he said. 

“In any case, the rank is not important and there is a large preventable loss of life occurring in this country due to fentanyl poisoning and it is affecting younger and younger people. These poisonings no longer have a ‘typical’ demographic, and it is important to understand that people from all walks of life are losing their lives to this epidemic.”

Dr. Eric Handler, Interim Health Officer for the City of Pasadena, said accidental fentanyl overdose deaths nationally have become the number one killer of 18-to 45-year-old people, surpassing deaths from car accidents, gun violence, heart disease and COVID-19.

“Education is a key component in addressing this epidemic,” Handler said, expressing support for Huntington Health’s free fentanyl information seminars.

After Saturday’s free seminar, the next seminars on the schedule are on Saturday, Feb. 11, 11 a.m. at Linda Vista Branch Library, 1281 Bryant Street in Pasadena; Saturday, Feb. 25, 11 a.m. at Santa Catalina Branch Library, 999 E. Washington Blvd. In Pasadena; Saturday, March 11, 11 a.m. at Altadena Library, 600 E. Mariposa Ave. in Altadena; and Saturday, April 15, 1:30 p.m. at Crowell Library, located at1890 Huntington Drive in San Marino.

Organizations and schools throughout the Pasadena area can also host these free seminars by Huntington Health. If you’re interested, send an email to CommunityOutreach@HuntingtonHospital.com.

To know more about Huntington Health’s fentanyl education program, visit www.huntingtonhealth.org/in-the-news/huntington-health-offers-free-seminars-to-community-about-the-fentanyl-crisis.

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