Save a life in 60-minutes
Everyone should know what to do in the event of an overdose.
In December 2017, St. Paul’s unveiled an online training program, designed to train the public on how to spot the signs of an opioid overdose, steps to take if someone overdoses including resuscitation, administer Naloxone — a drug that blocks opiate receptors in the nervous system, ultimately reversing the effects of opioids — and essentially save someone’s life who is at risk of dying from an overdose.
All in 60 minutes.
“When we started handing out naloxone kits in the St. Paul’s Hospital emergency department, we realized it was challenging to deliver consistent, high-quality training in a busy environment,” explains Dr. Andrew Kesler, emergency physician, St. Paul’s. “We wanted training that could be accessed from an iPad in the hospital so it was easy for health care workers to deliver, even without a lot of previous experience with the kits. The other goal was to develop training that would be accessible at home for people who use opioids and their families.”
At the end of the online course, you receive a certificate of completion. Showing it to a pharmacist or health-care worker at one of 600 community pharmacy locations will get you a take-home naloxone kit in return.
We are now two years out from the provincial declaration of a public health crisis. During this time, our staff have been on the frontlines of the battle but we know that the issue is bigger than just the people we see here in Vancouver. A tainted drug supply impacts all of us, with fatal overdoses happening in Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Langley, and Abbotsford, and beyond.
We’ve all been touched by the devastating effects of this crisis. Everyone should know what to do in the event of an overdose and this online course makes it that much easier to make that a reality.
