Police save man overdosing at CVS
I guess that having insurance coverage and/or CASH… was left out of those press releases about making Naloxone readily available in their stores. Maybe the Pharmacist was “NOT COMFORTABLE” dispensing/selling the Naloxone or believes that addicts deserve whatever they get from abusing some substance.
NORTH ANDOVER — A response to an abandoned 911 call resulted in the save of an overdose victim for North Andover police last week at the CVS on Turnpike Street.
According to North Andover Police Lt. E.J. Foulds, Officer Mark Wilson responded to the CVS, 110 Turnpike St., at 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 8 after police received an alarming phone call from a pharmacist inside the store.
But the phone call became disconnected, and Wilson traveled to the CVS to investigate, according to Foulds. Upon his arrival, Wilson located the male who entered the store and his friend, a 39-year-old male who was experiencing an overdose in the store parking lot.
“Officer Wilson radioed in an overdose and began preparing his nasal Narcan to administer to the victim,” Foulds said. “Lawrence (General Hospital) paramedics heard his call over the radio and also arrived to help.”
Wilson administered the Narcan, while paramedics monitored the victim’s breathing. After several minutes, the victim regained consciousness and was transported to Lawrence General. The victim’s friend was not taken to the hospital, according to Foulds.
Foulds applauded Wilson’s quick thinking and immediate action, which resulted in a positive outcome from a possible tragic situation.
“He responded to a 911 call that was dropped and didn’t know what was going on,” Foulds said. “He quickly identified the problem and saved a man’s life.”
Wilson’s save was the third by North Andover police within the last month. In September, police and firefighters revived two overdose victims by administering Narcan, the drug which reverses the symptoms of an overdose.
Filed under: General Problems
Officer Wilson must feel great that he saved a life. And the victim’s friend risked a lot to get help, so I hope the friend also feels good about saving a life.
But I want to hear from the overdose victim. When you were revived with the Narcan, was the pain so awful that you wished you hadn’t been saved? Was the overdose accidental? Do they have you in a locked room at the hospital? Are you restrained? How many rehabs have you gone to? When was the last time you saw a doctor? What other mental illnesses do you suffer from? Have you ever been abused? How much pain are you in right now?
They deliberately left out it had to be paid for before the average Joe would be given a bottle without a prescription….come on surely you don’t believe they’re going to hand it off the shelf in an emergency….they’ve fired RPHS for less such as inhalers for acute asthma attacks in the stores and NTG tabs to someone with chest pain while waiting for the ambulance
And then charge them with theft. No they want the 1st responders to be the ones with the Naloxone not the average Joe off the street. It’s just a press release feel good measure.