The TAB has new details about the agreement between Newton’s firefighters and the city which is expected to result in firefighters carrying the anti-overdose drug Narcan by the end of next month.
UPDATE; This statement from the city indicates that Newton police are also part of the agreement.
Fire, Police Departments Reach Agreement to Carry Narcan
Newton – The City of Newton is pleased to announce that we have reached agreement with the Newton Fire Department and Newton Police Department for these first responders to carry nasal narcan, a lifesaving drug that can be given to reverse an opioid overdose. This agreement covers issues of training, administration, storage, and other related items for the use of narcan. Plans are already in place to begin training and equip first responders with narcan.
“Narcan is one important component of a comprehensive approach to the opioid epidemic here in Newton and elsewhere,” Mayor Setti Warren said. “But it is only one piece of our multi-faceted approach which includes prevention, education, access to treatment programs for addicts, and life-long post intervention programs once an addict is in recovery. Our Opioid Working Group is developing short- and longer term approaches to each of these critical areas of need.”
“I am pleased that we are able to provide this life-saving tool to our fire personnel to better equip them in handling drug overdose emergencies,” Fire Chief Bruce Proia said. “I am extremely proud of all of the work that our fire personnel do for the City of Newton every day.”
“Narcan will give our public safety team here in Newton the ability to save lives and give people another chance,” said Chief of Police David MacDonald. “Our men and women will have this tool while we continue to work with other disciplines in the fight against opiate addiction. We are proud to be a part of this battle.”
A full copy of both signed agreements can be found here.
Very good news.
Time to move on and forget the exasperating concept that these organizations require seperate “agreements” to carry a life saving drug.
Hard to forget.
I am happy to see this has finally been accomplished by the City and the Unions. It is unfortunate that it’s going to take another 4-6 weeks to put this drug in service.
@Terry and mgwa, I don’t understand what your issue is with the Unions having agreements in place regarding Narcan. I don’t think that making sure the members are properly trained and protected and that the drug is stored safely is an exasperating request. I do agree that it’s a shame it took this long to get it done.
A great example of a community coming together to produce common sense and important results, while simultaneously holding leadership accountable. Job well done to all involved. Next step: Making sure that this administration is properly creating and implementing an effective community based strategy to address the root causes of this problem.
THW- We agree, it is a shame it took so long, but the more than a year delay in implementing this vital tool was not because of the careful consideration of training and handling. Narcan was just one more piece in the negotiations. That is shameful. Lopez’s ‘ comments above describe a disconnect between he and Proia. Proia says the Union wanted it discussed as part of contract negotiations, Lopez says he’d be willing to do a side agreement. There was no sense of urgency and it was lost in “business as usual”, he said/she said. It really shouldn’t be that complicated and a year was lost. Maddening.
What Terry said.
As to crafting and implementing an effective community-based strategy, my opinion is that we really need a region-wide strategy because this is a region-wide epidemic. Meanwhile, one good start would be for Newton to follow the lead of the Gloucester PD, inviting people struggling with addiction to come to the PD for help rather than criminal charges.
@Terry,
I agree that the negotiations took much longer than was necessary and this should have been in place a long time ago. I guess I must have misunderstood what you meant when you mentioned the agreements. There absolutely has to be something in writing for the two different unions involved, not only to protect themselves, but to protect the City. The shame is that it took so long for those agreements to happen.
Very glad it’s a done deal. Now I hope they can move forward with haste with training officers and first responders.