Henderson police get donation of opioid-overdose medication

Henderson police are getting another batch of an opioid overdose reversal drug, thanks to a donation from the Southern Nevada Health District.

The Henderson City Council on Tuesday approved the donation from the health district for 350 naloxone kits. The drug reverses the effects of opioids by blocking receptors in the brain.

Police spokesman Rod Pena said the drug gives police more time to get a person help. Not only does naloxone help those who have overdosed, it’s also available if an officer is exposed to an opioid in the field, he said.

The health district has given naloxone training to more than 30 agencies, including law enforcement, security and rehabilitation facilities, according to Laura Palmer, the district’s EMS and trauma systems supervisor.

Among those agencies is the Metropolitan and North Las Vegas police department, she said.

“Anybody that really puts in a request, we’re happy to train,” Palmer said.

Between Oct. 1, 2018 and Oct. 1, 2019, the health district distributed nearly 8,400 doses of naloxone, she said.

The kits were paid for with a federal grant through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Palmer said. The donation to Henderson is worth more than $20,000.

Henderson started training its officers in using the medication in August 2018, the same month it received a donation from the health district. By October last year, the department started training corrections officers, Pena said.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.