Delco First Responders Recognized For Overdose Reversal Efforts
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Several people who were revived from heroin or pain medication overdoses met with their first responders in Delaware County, where officers were recognized for their life-saving efforts.
As the banquet hall filled, a man named Brendan, who overdosed three years ago, saw the officer who administered Narcan, the brand name for the nasal spray naloxone that brought him back from death's door.
They embraced, and he told the officer that he was "eternally grateful."
Likewise, 29-year-old Andrew, who had been hooked on heroin since he was 21, overdosed in his Ridley Township home earlier this year.
"I had first responders come to my house and administer Narcan. From that time on, I realize that I was given a second chance at life. I've been doing everything I can since then to give it back," he said.
After going through a recovery program, and participating in Alcoholics Anonymous, Andrew is trying to get the message out to others, like him, "who just took a bad path."
"I experienced something that night, realizing that I shouldn't be here right now, and that I put myself in that situation," Andrew said.
Coming up on 10 months of sobriety, a beaming Andrew, while holding his three-and-a-half-month-old son, says he feels "beyond blessed and grateful."
Police officers, feeling a surge of pride, received hugs, handshakes, and pats on the back for jumping into action, ever since Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan partnered with local police chiefs in the county-wide program three years ago.
Since then, Whelan says more than 920 lives have been saved.
"I knew when I asked them to carry naloxone, and to take on this new task, that they would, and they did," Whelan said.
Delaware County was the first in the Commonwealth to train and equip its officers with Narcan. It leads the Commonwealth, followed by York, Bucks, Allegheny and Philadelphia counties, in the number of successful overdose reversals, according to statistics from state officials.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), in 2015 there were nearly 3400 overdose deaths, approximately nine deaths per day in Pennsylvania alone.
