Staff in two “potentially vulnerable” Burnaby school district programs will get training to administer naloxone in the event of a drug overdose but won’t be equipped with the opioid antidote itself.
“We haven’t gone through any of the legalities or issues around having the (naloxone) kits in the schools,” assistant superintendent Roberto Bombelli told the NOW. “The training is more around them being aware of issues and signs of overdose.”
A teacher, an outdoor education specialist and a therapist with the Take a Hike program based at the Canada Way Education Centre, and the principal and a teacher/first-aid attendant at the district’s adult education centre will get training to ensure staff “have the background and knowledge to deal with any issues related to drug misuse and overdose,” according to information presented at a public school board meeting last month.
Bombelli said the district is following recommendations from provincial health officials in response to the ongoing fentanyl crisis, which claimed the lives of 914 people in B.C. in 2016.
Twelve of those were youth aged 10 to 18 and none was related to activities in schools, so health officials don’t consider schools a high-risk environment for the time being, according to Bombelli.
“The focus with youths 10 to 18 is really on prevention through decision making, increasing awareness, safer practices, etc.,” he said. “We do have resources in all of the schools that counsellors and admin have and can share with kids.”
Only sites and programs deemed to be vulnerable to a potential overdose – like the alternate education Take a Hike program, which involves overnight trips, and the adult education centre, where students are in a higher-risk age bracket – will see staff trained in administering naloxone.
“Whether we move down a road of providing kits to those areas, we just haven’t gotten there yet, but it’s a conversation we’re looking at,” Bombelli said.
Naloxone is currently available at only one district site – the Hub, at 4750 Imperial St., which also houses a health clinic.
