'It's so gripping and compelling': UNL study shows Nebraskans don't understand use of Narcan
Advocates fighting drug abuse in Nebraska are working to get the word out about Narcan as the state of addiction worsens.
Advocates fighting drug abuse in Nebraska are working to get the word out about Narcan as the state of addiction worsens.
Advocates fighting drug abuse in Nebraska are working to get the word out about Narcan as the state of addiction worsens.
A lifesaving drug just small enough to fit inside your pocket.
"It blocks the Opioid receptors in the brain and reverses an overdose so that the people that are suffering from an overdose can recover," said Sharon Wedberg.
Narcan, also known as Naloxone, can be a lifeline to someone experiencing an Opioid overdose, something Wedberg knows firsthand.
"We just noticed that we were hearing some labored breathing coming from her way. So I got up from the desk and I went over to check on her and she was completely blue and purple," she said.
Wedberg is a behavioral health technician at CenterPoint Campus for Hope. It's a facility providing mental health and substance abuse treatment in Nebraska.
Everyone there is trained on how to administer Narcan.
"If we had not had Narcan on hand that night, she would not be here today. Absolutely not. She would not have recovered from that no," said Wedberg.
As drug addiction expands in Nebraska, Narcan becomes a crucial tool.
But a recent study by the University of Lincoln's Rural Drug Research Center shows only a quarter of Nebraskan's understand what it is.
"We were expecting maybe a little bit more knowledge in Omaha and Lincoln because we know we've had more overdose deaths in both of those regions, but we didn't see quite as much of that as we thought we would have," said Patrick Habecker, assistant research professor at UNL and co-founder of the study.
And only 10-20% know where to get Narcan.
"It doesn't require a hospital or a clinic," Habecker said.
Narcan is administered as a nasal spray and the state of Nebraska provides it free to participating pharmacies.
It's free to you, too, you just need to ask.
In 2021 at least 221 Nebraskans died of Opioid overdoes. That's why having Narcan close by is so important.
"It's coming into everyday life. That's the level at which it's moving in, meaning people are running into opiates in a negative way," said Topher Hansen, president of CenterPoint in Lincoln.
Hansen said CenterPoint has a grant to educate Nebraskans about Narcan.
"I mean, people who have died, meaning their respiration stopped and their hearts have stopped. If this is administered soon enough, then it can revive that person and they can be back in business," he said.
Education and understanding, another tool in the fight against the state of addiction.