WESTFIELD — Could Westfield high school students, even those not on the path to health care jobs, be trained to administer a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose?
Suhanee Mitragotri, a neuroscience, and global health and health policy student at Harvard University, wants to make that a reality. Her naloxone training initiative aims to bring education on the drug, also known by the brand name Narcan, to high schools across the state.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
“We lose so many people every year to opioid overdoses in Massachusetts,” said Mitragotri. “Naloxone really is a pivotal tool in harm reduction and saving lives. Teaching people about how to use naloxone is incredibly important because so many high school students don’t even know what naloxone is, and it’s such a valuable tool.”
The initiative is a collaboration between her and Dr. Scott Weiner, an emergency medicine specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and comes out of Mitragotri’s passion for adolescent health education.
In the 15- to 20-minute training, she and Weiner would give a presentation to high school students in their health classrooms, discussing the signs of opioid overdose and how naloxone reverses it. That would be followed by a five-step tutorial on how to respond to an overdose, which includes how to administer naloxone. They would also teach students where naloxone is available in the community. She hopes training like this will eventually be adopted as part of every school’s standard health education curriculum.
“It’s so important that when we’re sending youth out in communities, that they are equipped with the skills they need,” she said.
Mitragotri reached out by email to the Westfield Board of Health about the initiative. At their Oct. 16 meeting, board members like Carrie Hildreth-Fiordalice praised the idea, saying it will raise young people’s confidence in administering the drug.
“If you don’t know how to use it, you’re not going to use it,” she said. “Once they go through the training, I think it raises their comfort level.”
Nonetheless, she questioned if there were any fees involved with the student’s initiative. Mitragotri told Reminder Publishing it would be offered for free.
Similarly, Substance Use Outreach Coordinator Kimberly Slade said, “I’m 100% behind providing this to our kids. I’ve personally given the training to teens in the past and I’ve personally known teens that have had to use it.”
Slade also said the board should ensure the training is evidence-based and conducted in a way that won’t damage the high school students’ mental health. Mitragotri told Reminder Publishing that her proposed training is in line with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and is modeled after previous trainings given to young people.
Westfield School Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said students in the biomedical pathway at Westfield High School and the allied health program at Westfield Technical Academy already learn about administering naloxone. Some of the district staff have also done training.
He is not opposed to bringing Mitragotri’s initiative to other students.
“Teaching students for the possibility of a situation where they may be faced with having to administer Narcan, I just think it’s a good thing for everybody,” he said. “The opioid crisis certainly isn’t going away, and most people know someone who is an addict or someone in their family.”
Reminder Publishing also reached out to school superintendents Jennifer Willard, of the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District, and Kristen Smidy, of the Gateway Regional School District, for comment. Willard did not respond to a phone call to her office.
Smidy said that the initiative would not be needed at Gateway, as the Hilltown Community Health Center has offices in district schools, where health providers can offer care beyond that of a school nurse.
“I don’t think we would need something like that, but I do think it’s a worthy initiative,” she said.
Mitragotri will give a presentation to the Westfield Board of Health on Nov. 13. Czaporowski said the School Committee would have to review the proposed training and vote on it. If approved, parents would have the opportunity to opt their children out of the training, he said.
School districts that are interested in the initiative can reach out to Mitragotri at suhaneemitragotri@college.harvard.edu.
