The Osage Nation hosted drive-thru Narcan training in Pawhuska on Wednesday.
“The need is higher than we’d like to think,” said Jennifer McGlothlin of the Osage Nation Counseling Center. “Everyone wants to think that this isn’t happening in their community. But the truth of the matter is opioids are everywhere.”
Even in Pawhuska, a town with less than 3,000 people, the opioid epidemic is unavoidable.
The Osage Nation is trying to combat it with community goodwill.
“It’s amazing,” McGlothlin said. “I am so proud of this community for showing up today and being so eager to learn how to respond.”
For residents like Thomas Trumbly, it just took a little curiosity.
“They said, ‘Well, go over there and get some free test kits,’” Trumbly said. “And I said, ‘Test kits?’”
“Realistically, the first responder is whomever shows up and finds somebody unconscious,” McGlothlin said.
People needed just five minutes to learn how to use Narcan from the front seat of their cars.
“It was kind of new to me,” Trumbly said. “I didn’t know you could actually help somebody on the street and bring them back to life.”
“I started this morning thinking if we handed out 50 boxes, we’d be doing really well,” McGlothlin said.
However, the Osage Nation Counseling Center passed out 36 boxes in the first two hours alone.
“It is better than I ever possibly hoped,” McGlothlin said.