Narcan use, overdoses part of coalition meeting

In the last nine months, Narcan, used to offset a narcotic overdose, has been administered in 103 instance here in Sampson County, and there have been three fatal overdoses. Added to that statistic, a group was told this week, is the fact that Clinton, Roseboro and Salemburg are the three areas of Sampson with the highest incidences of overdoses.

Those statistics were just some of those shared earlier this week as employees from organizations across the county made their way to the Sampson County Health Department to participate in the Sampson Sharing Luncheon event, held Wednesday and hosted by the Sampson County Substance Abuse Coalition.

“We put on this event to educate people about substance misuse,” the coalition co-chair Candice Mathis said. “We think different members of the community could benefit from a program like this.”

Mathis said there were a few ideas of what to do, but a “lunch and learn” is what won in the end. The speakers for the event covered everything from what Narcan is and how to use it to programs that can help people get back on their feet after recovering from substance abuse. Most importantly, for Mathis at least, the provided lunch also gave everyone the chance to network with people from other organizations.

“Networking is the only way to improve and effectively make a change in a community,” Mathis said.

The event had seven speakers. The first was Mark Trathen, the assistant chief of operations for Sampson County EMS.

Trathen was the one who gave the presentation about Narcan and the statistics of Narcan use throughout Sampson County. He explained how Narcan used to be given out by medical professionals when prescribing narcotics to patients, but they have mostly stopped doing that, although, he said, people can get Narcan through insurance and pharmacies, and it is usually for free. Other than that, the Sheriff’s Office and Police Department both carry Narcan to help with overdoses.

Then, he broke down the statistics of overdoses and having to use Narcan throughout the county between Jan. 1, 2024 and Sept. 1, 2024.

In total, there were 103 cases where Narcan had to be used, and only three fatalities.

“Of those three fatalities, it was either the patient was beyond help or there was no antidote available and the life-saving actions that we did weren’t effective,” Trathen explained.

He broke down the statistics further by showing the rates by race, age range, and gender before showing the locations where the most substance abuse happened within Sampson County.

“Right now, in Clinton, Roseboro and Salemburg area are our highest instances of overdose; whether it be narcotic or meth or some other type of substance, those three areas are the highest,” Trathen said.

The next presenters were Assistant Chief Adrian Matthews and Lieutenant Stokes McKoy from the Clinton City Police Department.

Matthews touched upon Narcan use, expanding more on what Trathen had already spoken about.

The main thing he pointed out, which Trathen had also touched upon, was for Narcan to work there had to be narcotics in the body. To which, Matthews then told the room that it was just better to admit to what drugs were taken than to lie.

“It’s not illegal to do drugs, but it is illegal to get caught with drugs,” Matthews pointed out after.

He also said, like Trathen did, that they could not force anyone to go to the hospital after Narcan was administered. Instead, the people they helped would just sign a form stating they rejected medical care.

Other topics Matthews touched upon was saying there is no specific temperature that Narcan has to be stored at, but to avoid extreme temperatures, there are education programs happening in schools that are done by the school resource officers, and to immediately call 911 before administrating Narcan.

Anyone who uses Narcan to help someone is covered by the Good Samaritan Law, even if the person it was used on has a negative reaction to the use of the drug, Matthews assured the group.

McKoy, instead, spoke about the Prescription Medication Take Back Program.

According to McKoy, the Clinton Police Department is the only permanent location in Sampson County where prescription drugs that residents want to get rid of can be dropped off. The program was started in 2013 and it is in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

McKoy shared numbers detailing how much medication the Police Department has destroyed since 2020.

“(In 2020) we brought in 450 pounds, ‘21 was 530, ‘22 was 525. Last year was at 590 pounds, and to date this year we had 400 pounds. That is almost 2,500 pounds; that’s over a ton of medication that people have brought us that we’ve destroyed to keep from being misused,” McKoy shared.

Next, was Sandra Webster from NC Works.

“We normally help people find jobs as well as provide services and fund and finance to help get them back to school to invest in their education,” Webster said as an introduction for herself and NC Works.

And through the programs that NC Works offers, Webster explained that they help ex-offenders and those who have “come into contact with the law” after substance abuse to find employment. She spoke for a few more minutes about the programs offered through NC Works and the funding provided by the state before sitting down once more.

Veronic Stevens form Changing Paths NC II spoke next about how this program works to help those in Sampson County get the help they need for “recovery and transformation.”

“We know that (recovery) is not an overnight change, but we found that it’s a transformative journey,” Stevens said.

She spoke about how Changing Paths NC II looks at the big picture when it comes to helping its clients. Instead of focusing on just one thing, they look at everything from health to finances to jobs.

She mentioned that Chasing Paths also has a sober living facility with 54 beds for single individuals to use to get back on their feet after going through rehabilitation.

On top of that, Stevens shared there are also weekly meetings for substance abuse programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous available through Changing Paths.

Lastly, Ernie Watts and Charlene Zorn from Region Eight Tobacco Control spoke about the dangers and addictions those who vape face.

Watts spoke in practical terms, talking about past cases of elementary school-aged children going to the emergency room because of vaping in different counties and how vaping companies are “camouflaging” vapes to appeal to the younger generation.

These camouflaging aspects, according to Watts, include having around 7,000 different flavors for vapes and making them look more like toys as the years go on.

He then gave the floor to Zorn who spoke about her 15-year-old son, Solomon, who died from popcorn lung brought on by vaping. Zorn was close to tears as she held up a picture of her son in his football jersey and explained how his friends had got him into vaping during his freshman year.

“He got what we thought was a bad cold, and one of our family doctors treated him for (a) cold, sinus, maybe some bronchitis,” Zorn recalled. “He didn’t get better; he didn’t get better. Took him back in and the doctor prescribed some antibiotics, tried steroids.”

Finally, after testing for everything it could’ve been and running all the tests, Zorn recalled the doctor asking how long Solomon had been vaping. That’s when she found out that his friends had gotten him into vaping and continued to get him vapes when he needed them. But because of this, her son was no longer as active as he once was. He could no longer play football, she said, and he couldn’t go to the weight room with his friends. Some days he couldn’t even walk around the house without getting too winded.

Zorn ended the story explaining how Solomon had collapsed the morning of June 16, 2023 and his father found him. She spoke about the EMTs working on him for 77 minutes before he was stable enough to be taken to the hospital, but by the next day he was declared brain dead and she had to take him off the ventilator.

The presentation ended after Zorn and Watts explained that, in North Carolina, the legal age to buy a vape is 18 even though it is 21 years old nationally, and that every county and school district had a different policy on how to deal with underage vaping.

They both stressed the dangers of vaping once again before giving the floor back to Mathis so the event could break for lunch and people could either network or leave if they needed too.

Mathis, after the event, said the most she could hope for out of doing this event was to educate the people in attendance with things they could take back to their jobs and homes and use to help the wellbeing of Sampson County.