KSHB 41 anchor/reporter JuYeon Kim covers agricultural issues and the fentanyl crisis. Share your story idea with JuYeon.
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A joint drug overdose response training between Kansas City area EMS and MO-CORPS at UMSL-MIMH is showing promise in harm reduction.
According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, drug overdose is the number one leading cause of death among adults aged 18-44.
Seventy percent of those overdoses involve opioids like fentanyl.
"There was just so much just sadness, death and misery that was happening that we tried as an agency to figure out what can we do differently," said Nathan Hopper, EMS division chief with the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department. "This particular station saw so much death and misery as a result of drug overdoses up and down this I-35 corridor."
Hopper says they started carrying around "Leave Behind Kits."
It has two Narcan nasal sprays, an emergency breathing kit and mental health resources.
With the spike in fentanyl poisonings in the last several years, Narcan has now become a permanent fixture in their firetrucks.
In 2022, KCFD saw a peak year, treating 891 patients with Narcan.
The idea for the kits came out of the joint overdose response training.
“It’s a three-part training. One is the history of fentanyl, the second part has to do with the Narcan certification, recovery on that, and then the last part is really Ray’s specialty," said KCPD Sgt. Sean Hess, who is a trainer of the program. "We talk about recovery, medication-assisted treatment."
Each two-hour training session is led by an emergency responder and a peer-certified specialist.
A peer-certified specialist is someone like Ray Rath, who has a history of substance abuse or mental illness that can humanize this crisis.
"The language we use, calling people addicts and junkies and stuff like that, they are people with a substance use disorder," Rath said. "And we need to treat them like they are people. The less we do that, the less likely they are to find recovery and stick with recovery."
Most fire, police and EMS in the greater Jackson, Platte and Clay counties have gotten on board.
"You’ll have five or six people come up and say, ‘Hey, man, that really hit home. I have a family member, neighbor, loved one that has gone through fentanyl, and thank you for what you do; we appreciate it,'" Hess said. “It may not make a difference right after the training, but later on, I think they’ll grow to appreciate it — especially with the recruits and the cadets."
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