LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Lexington Fire Department recently started a new program to get Naloxone, or Narcan, into the hands of more people. One spray of the potent medicine can save the life of someone who has overdosed.

What You Need To Know

  • The Lexington Fire Department began its new Narcan Leave Behind Program about two weeks ago and has handed out 30 Narcan kits so far

  • The kits are being given to family and friends of people who have overdosed to increase accessibility of the medicine

  • A box of Naloxone and instructions on how to use it are inside the kit

  • Every ambulance in Lexington is equipped with Narcan kits

Jimmy Chadwell with Voices of Hope understands from personal experience the importance of accessibility to Narcan after an overdose in 2017.

“Narcan’s great, right? It saves lives,” said Chadwell. He said he’s been revived with the overdose-reversing drug before. “I know some of our other employees have as well. We’ve also been in a position to use Narcan to save other people’s lives as well, you know, in our personal lives and through our work.”

Once on the road to recovery, Chadwell wanted to help others who are struggling with substance use.

“Once I got in recovery, I realized that I like to help people and it helped me stay in recovery to help other people so I applied with Voices and got a position here,” said Chadwell.

Voices of Hope has several services, among them is distributing Naloxone to the community. Chadwell believes it is important for people to have access to the medication.

“Narcan can be administered by a friend, a family member, someone that you see out in the community, right?” said Chadwell. “It can be anybody that can administer Narcan, so the more available it is, the more lives that can be potentially saved.”

The Lexington Fire Department is working to do just that with its new Narcan Leave Behind Program.

“Now we’re putting these on ambulances—so when they’ve made a run and have given somebody Narcan, the ambulance crew can actually provide the family, or the individual, or friends, whoever on scene, the Narcan at the scene,” said Capt. Seth Lockard with the Lexington Fire Department.

This is an initiative that Brett Oglesby at the Lexington Addiction Center supports. It is a facility that offers housing and treatment for people in recovery.

Oglesby celebrated his 10-year anniversary of sobriety in January, and says he has lost several friends to fentanyl overdoses in the last five years.

“If everyone in the community had access to Narcan, certainly that would be behoovable to be able to help the deaths that’s increasing on a daily basis,” said Oglesby.

This is a sentiment that Chadwell shares.

“I know that it’s great in any form that it can come in, so the fire department’s program is welcome and we completely support it and think that it’s a great thing,” said Chadwell. “The more Narcan, the better because the more lives that we can save.”

The Lexington Fire Department has put together kits that come with a box of Naloxone and instructions for how to administer it.

The program began a couple of weeks ago and the department has handed out 30 Narcan kits. Lexington has 12 ambulances and all of them are equipped with the kits to hand out.

Even if Narcan is given to someone, the department still wants people to call 9-1-1 to ensure that those who have overdosed get the care they need and to provide resources to them.

Related Stories