Opinion: Follow lead of young and do naloxone, CPR training

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In an Oct. 2 opinion piece, Natasha Baldin rightly highlights the importance of being prepared to respond to a suspected opioid overdose. Equipping youth with the skills to act confidently in emergencies — whether responding to cardiac arrests or opioid-related crises — is crucial.

And as Baldin illustrates through her own experience, it’s not just high school students who need these life-saving skills.

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The opioid crisis has touched every corner of Canada, with nearly 2,000 apparent opioid toxicity deaths occurring between January and March this year alone. On average, 21 people die every day from opioid-related emergencies. These tragedies are overwhelmingly unintentional.

While young Canadians aged 15-to-24 are the fastest-growing population requiring hospital care from opioid overdoses, many others are at risk, including individuals prescribed an opioid for pain management who may accidentally take too many or confuse medications.

Educating and empowering youth to respond during a cardiac arrest or an opioid-related emergency is vital, as they are often present when emergencies occur. Rapid interventions, such as calling 911, performing CPR and administering nasal naloxone (available for free in many pharmacies), can drastically improve survival rates and outcomes.

This is why the Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation works with Canadian high schools to provide free cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), automated external defibrillator (AED), and opioid overdose response training for students.

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Since launching the first CPR program in Ottawa high schools in 1994, the ACT Foundation has expanded its scope to include how to use an AED and, more recently, opioid overdose response training — including the use of naloxone.

To date, more than five million students have received life-saving CPR training, thanks to the ACT Foundation’s collaboration with more than 1,800 high schools nationwide and many have already saved lives.

“Why wouldn’t I want to learn this?” one student asked after completing the program. “Why wouldn’t I want to know how to help someone?”

ACT has introduced opioid overdose response training in 835 high schools across Canada — 61 of them in Ottawa — and this number continues to grow.

The impact is clear: training evaluations show that 86 per cent of teachers and 89 per cent of students agree that learning to respond to an opioid-associated emergency is an essential part of their CPR training. Moreover, 87 per cent of students reported that after their training, they had a deeper understanding of how opioid emergencies can happen, knowledge that can save lives.

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Our youth are acquiring life-saving skills, and are applying these skills within their families and communities. It’s time for us to follow their lead.

Life-threatening medical emergencies occur when we least expect them, and each of us can play a role in saving lives. CPR is straightforward and easy to learn, and community courses are widely available. Many programs even include how to respond to opioid-related emergencies.

So, let’s get trained. And let’s confidently walk into a pharmacy, ask for a free Naloxone kit, and be ready to act when needed. We all have the ability — and responsibility — to be ready to save a life.

Sandra Clarke, M.S.C., is executive director and founder, Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation. Michael Austin, MD, is  an emergency physician; national medical director, ACT Foundation; director, Prehospital and Transport Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital, and medical director, Regional Paramedic Program for Eastern Ontario.

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