More School Districts Across Colorado Enroll In State Narcan Program

DENVER (CBS4)- Across the state, school districts are proactively trying to protect their students.

"Schools are the hubs of our community," staff for Douglas County Schools told their school board on Wednesday night.

In a unanimous vote, they approved policy changes allowing for naloxone, commonly known as Narcan to be brought into every school in their district and allow training of staff on how to administer it.

"Naloxone is 100% safe," she said.

Denver Public Schools also working toward that goal, in March CBS4 spoke with Michel Holien the manager of prevention services for DPS.

"We are looking into that and at this point, we are working on a policy that is currently in review with legal and so then the goal will be to move that forward and train our nurses and have it available in our schools," said Holein.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment started the 'Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund' in 2019.

In the fall of 2021, they say only two school districts had taken advantage of the free supply, fast forward to now and 14 districts across the state are either enrolled or enrolling.

"We have seen a significant amount of interest and just schools kind of recognizing this is an important tool to have, even if we hope they don't have to use it," Sam Bourdon said.

Bourdon works with the overdose prevention unit within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

In addition to school districts, she says county health agencies, and law enforcement are also able to access the lifesaving medication.

While the state says they're navigating the growing demand, they welcome additional requests.

"While it's always a unique challenge to keep up with demand, it's a great problem to have," Bourdon said.

Some public entities may also be eligible for the program, you can learn more by visiting the state's website.