Jul 11, 2017Prepared for an Overdose
Bridgewater State University staged a mock overdose in order to prepare people for how to deal with actual emergencies involving overdose victims. The drill included administering naxolone, an overdose antidote.
According to TurnTo10, the event had two men playing the roles of overdose victims, thus serving as a demonstration for how emergency medical technicians, first responders, and campus police respond to the situation. Many of those involved were athletic trainers from Massachusetts schools.
Dr. Dan Muse, emergency physician at Brockton Hospital, said athletic trainers were often the best people to deal with these emergencies.
“You want to get the person who’s going to know them the best,” Muse said. “In reality, when you’re talking about the athlete, there is no better resource than the athletic trainer and the reason for this is they’re going to see the kids when they’re most vulnerable.”
Kimberly Wise, Bridgewater’s athletic training program’s clinical education coordinator, stressed the importance of dealing with the crisis.
“I believe that we, as program and as medical facilitators, need to educate our community about the opioid awareness and the epidemic for overdose,” Wise said.
Kara Hines, an athletic trainer for Braintree High School, said the demonstration was “a real eye-opener” that helped prepare her to deal with overdoses.
“Hopefully, that’s nothing that we do see on our athletic fields,” Hines said.
