Oregon City School Board Approves Naloxone in its medicine policy
On March 14, 2022, the Oregon City School District School Board unanimously approved to include Naloxone in the district’s medicine policy during the board meeting. Naloxone, otherwise known as Narcan, is a medication used to treat opioid overdoses. It has saved thousands of lives.
The school district will have a narcan kit available in each school as well as the football stadium. We are especially thankful for Michele Stroh’s leadership in helping keep students safe. Our school nurses Cheryl Sharkey and Linda Previs, are to be commended for their outstanding work developing the new policy. They will be training staff on how to use the narcan kits during an opioid overdose.
In addition, we are focusing on prevention. The school district and its community partners are kicking off an awareness effort today to inform parents of the risks of fake pills containing deadly fentanyl. As you have seen in recent media reports, this drug is common in our area … with tragic results from fentanyl poisoning.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid. It is cheap so drug dealers use it to make fake pills, flooding the market with counterfeit Xanax, Oxycodone, Percocet and the like. These pills look like the real thing. Students can get them from Snapchat and other social media platforms.
The best prevention is talking to your student about never taking any medication that doesn’t come from their doctor. And never taking pills from others, even from friends and relatives.
Here is more information about fake pills laced with fentanyl to assist with this life-saving conversation.
Students and families can report confidential concerns about substances circulating in the community and being sold online by going to SafeOregon. Or call the Oregon City Police at 503-905-3501 or its non-emergency dispatch at 503-655-8211 if you have information regarding suspected in-person or online drug activity.
We care deeply about the health and safety of each and every student. We know these conversations with your child can be hard. Please reach out to your child's school and school counselor if you need support.
