Equipping an urban hospital police and security team with Narcan.

Abstract

Narcan, the nasal-spray form of naloxone, has been approved by the FDA as an easy-to-use version of a drug for saving lives of people who have overdosed on opioids--heroin or prescription painkillers. Communities across the US have been equipping first responders and police with the spray. Now, as the increase in overdose deaths has spread to hospitals, those facilities will have to decide whether their police/security officers should be equipped with. naloxone and trained in its use. In this article, the authors relate their health system's decision, how it was reached, and how it has been implemented.