KINGSTON — A free training in Kingston next month will prepare North Kitsap residents to save lives in the midst of an opioid crisis. 

Participants in the Feb. 14 course will receive instruction on identifying opioid overdoses and administering naloxone, or Narcan, a medication used to reverse overdoses. They’ll also get free doses of Narcan nasal spray to carry with them.  

The training and equipment are being provided by the Suquamish Tribe and a host of partner organizations, with funding from a state Health Care Authority grant. Suquamish wellness program coordinator Abby Purser said the goal of the training is simple.  

“Quite honestly, it’s just to save lives,” Purser said. 

An overdose from an opioid such as heroin causes a person’s respiration to slow while also suppressing the natural reaction that would make them wake up and gasp for air. As breathing becomes sporadic, the victim’s body is starved of oxygen.

Naloxone can reverse overdoses by filling opioid receptors in the body and blocking the effects of the drug — a painful but potentially-lifesaving process for the victim. The medication can be safely administered by someone without formal medical training. If the victim is not experiencing an opioid overdose, naloxone has no ill effect. 

“Even if you’re wrong it does no harm,” Kitsap substance abuse prevention program coordinator Laura Hyde said. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends naloxone distribution in communities as an evidence-based strategy for preventing overdoses. Paramedics across the county carry naloxone and Kitsap law enforcement agencies started equipping officers with Narcan nasal spray in recent years.

A mobile syringe exchange operated by the People’s Harm Reduction Alliance distributed more than 1,200 naloxone kits in Kitsap in 2018. Clients reported using more than 950 of those kits to reverse overdoses, according to the alliance. 

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The prevalence of deaths related to opioid overdoses remained steady in Kitsap through 2017, when a rate of nine deaths per 100,000 residents was reported, according to state Department of Health statistics released by Kitsap Public Health District in its annual Health Indicators report. Hospitalizations for nonfatal opioid overdoses have more than doubled since 2001, with a rate of 19 per 100,000 residents in 2017. 

Overdose statistics for 2018 were not yet available. 

According to the state Department of Health, an increasing number of overdoses in Washington have been linked to fentanyl, a powerful opioid used in medical settings but also distributed illegally. Higher doses of naloxone may be needed to counter overdoses caused by fentanyl. 

The free naloxone training is scheduled for 3-4 p.m. Feb. 14 at Kingston Village Green, 21695 Dulay Road NE in Kingston. 

Other agencies supporting the event are the North Kitsap Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, People’s Harm Reduction Alliance, Peninsula Community Health Services and Kingston Village Green. 

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