Narcan Coming Soon To NYC Public Schools
At the beginning of the school year, nearly one-third of the public high schools, which were supposed to be equipped with naloxone for the first time, were still awaiting their supplies. This revelation coincides with a surge in youth overdose deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing gaps in services for New York City’s youngest substance users and putting officials in a race to catch up.
According to Jenna Lyle, a spokesperson for the Department of Education (DOE), New York City public schools were set to be supplied with naloxone (commonly known as Narcan), an opioid overdose reversal medication, for the first time. This announcement was initially reported by CBS News in June after an investigation revealed that the city was lagging behind neighboring school districts in providing this life-saving drug. However, approximately 130 schools commenced the school year this month without a stock of naloxone, which is administered as a life-saving nasal spray.
New York City trails behind other major school districts such as Los Angeles and Miami-Dade, which took steps to fully equip their public schools with naloxone last fall and this spring, respectively.
According to the DOE, as of September 15, approximately 270 public high schools out of over 400 across the five boroughs had received a 2-dose kit of naloxone. The school year started on September 7.
In 2021, the latest year for which age data is available, 78 individuals aged 15-24 died in New York City, a decrease from the peak in 2020 but still 1.5 times higher than pre-pandemic levels. Overall, overdoses across all age groups continued to rise in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period the previous year, reflecting a four-year increase driven by a surge in opioid-related deaths, according to the most recent data from the city Health Department.
This month, the death of a 1-year-old in a Bronx daycare highlighted the dangers of fentanyl, a chemical often found in opioids that can be lethal even in minuscule doses. This tragedy has renewed calls for stronger drug policies. While 15-24 year-olds are the only age group that saw a decline in overdoses from 2020 to 2021, youth drug abuse remains a significant concern. According to one treatment provider, the number of individuals under the age of 22 seeking emergency care for drug-related crises has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Norwig Debye-Saxinger, the executive director of the Therapeutic Community Association of New York, a network of residential treatment providers and a seasoned policymaker, commented, “It’s the same serious issue. The trend hasn’t decreased. Either what’s been done so far isn’t working, or the new approaches haven’t been in place long enough to make a difference yet,”.
In recent years, the state’s approach to overdose prevention has emphasized “harm reduction,” encompassing various low-barrier interventions with a focus on medications to treat opioid dependency, such as buprenorphine and methadone. Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul have both endorsed this approach in their mental health plans, which are central components of their first-term agendas.
Adams unveiled a three-part plan in March, targeting severe mental illness, drug abuse, and youth services, with the goal of reducing overdose deaths in New York City by 15 percent by 2025.
According to the latest Mayor’s Management Report, released in September, New York City is on track to exceed the number of buprenorphine patients in 2022, surpassing 15,000 individuals, following a slight decline over the previous two years.
The Department of Education also employs substance abuse specialists dedicated to providing in-school intervention, including counseling, training, and referrals to external service providers, including residential services when necessary. However, Debye-Saxinger, a member of the state’s Advisory Council for the Protection of People with Special Needs, noted that the DOE rarely utilizes these referrals, partly because relying on external services could result in the loss of state and federal funding for financially strained city schools.
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