INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Two deputies are credited with using Narcan to save the life of a woman who was thought to have overdosed on an unknown pill, officials said.
Deputies went to an apartment about 8 p.m. Sunday in response to an overdose in the 1100 block of Old Dixie Highway, south of 12th Street and west of U.S. 1. Upon arrival, Sheriff’s Cpl Ryan Holly and Deputy Dwayne Hoilett found a 52-year-old woman who had trouble breathing and was vomiting repeatedly, said sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Thom Raulen.
Deputy Dwayne Hoilett (left) and Cpl Ryan Holly (right)
The woman was not responsive to verbal direction. Another person at the scene told deputies the woman might have overdosed on an unknown amount of pills.
Deputies used an Evzio auto injector to insert .4 milligrams of naloxone, also known as Narcan, into the woman’s right thigh. The woman was taken by ground to the Indian River Medical Center, where she was last known to be in stable condition.
Further details on the pills and the woman were not available. Deputies could not find any pills or pill bottles at the apartment or on the woman.
Narcan is a medication used to reverse the effects of opiates, especially in overdose cases, health officials said. An FDA approved Evzio is a prescription treatment that can be used by family members or caregivers to treat a person known or suspected to have had an opioid overdose, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration site.
Deputies began using Narcan in November 2017 in response to the continuing opioid crisis. Statistics on the amount of lives the medication has saved in Indian River County in overdose cases were not immediately available.
Those who want more information about treatment options and how to obtain a Narcan kit should contact the Substance Awareness Center at 772-770-4811 or visit the center’s website.
