By Corinne Saunders | Outer Banks Voice on February 17, 2023
Jesse Ruby (left), Peer Support Specialist with DCDHHSās ROSS program and Cindy Swoope (right), with TJās Gas & Grill standing in front of free harm reduction resources and supplies available to the public. (Dare County Health and Human Services)
The owner of TJās Gas & Grill in Colington knows that people have suffered drug overdoses on the site of her business.
āWe have had them pass out in the parking lotā from overdoses, noted TJās owner, Judy Beasley. She said employees have called 9-1-1 and emergency responders have administered naloxone, an opioid overdose-reversing nasal spray that is often called by its name brand version, NARCANĀ®.
Now, TJās has naloxone and other supplies to prevent and reverse overdoses on hand. Itās one of a number of local businesses and organizationsāranging from gas stations to grocery storesāthat have partnered with the Dare County Department of Health and Human Servicesā Recovery and Overdose Support Services (ROSS) to distribute those materials.
Through grant funding, ROSS supplies fentanyl test strips, naloxone, medicine lock boxes, medicine disposal kits and other resources to places that agree to partner in the effort, allowing patrons to pick up the materials at no cost.
Fentanyl test strips can determine if fentanyl is in substances or pills before they are taken, while naloxone can reverse overdoses from fentanyl, heroin, prescription medications and other opioids, according to public health officials.
Since last October, the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has left 138 doses of naloxone kits and 170 fentanyl test strips at TJās, according to Kelly Nettnin Fleming, DHHS health education and outreach supervisor.
āTJās has received just a tremendous amount of positive feedback from their customersā¦saying things like, āTJās saves lives,ā āThank you so much; this is so needed,ā so weāve gotten really good feedback from the patrons in TJās, and obviously from TJās as well,ā Fleming said.
Beasley sees the effort as a safety measure. Materials are restocked about once a week on a display table by the checkout counter at TJs, and every time, āwithin 24 hours, itās gone,ā she said. Most patrons taking the materials ākeep it in their car in case one of the kidsā or someone else they encounter needs it.
Created to respond to people struggling with substance use, mental health and trauma challenges, ROSS began as a pilot program in Kill Devil Hills in 2018 and expanded countywide in 2019, according to Fleming. The partnerships with local businesses and agencies to distribute potentially life-saving materials began in the latter half of 2022.
Some of the other participating businesses cited by health officials are Whiteās Shopping Center in Manns Harbor; the Duck Thrus in Manteo; the 7-Elevens in Kitty Hawk and in Kill Devil Hills; Miss Helenās Stop Quik, the Circle Ks and Speedway in Kill Devil Hills; Food Lion and St. John United Methodist Church in Avon; Red Drum Tackle Shop and Connerās Supermarket in Buxton.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and it is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It can be mixed with drugs ranging from heroin to marijuana, or made into pills resembling other prescription medications, according to public health officials.
Statistics provided by Dare County EMS indicate that more than 40 people in the county received naloxone in each of the past five years, other than 2019, when it was 34. Administrations over the past five years have been recorded in every town and across unincorporated areas of the countyāfrom Stumpy Point to Wanchese to Waves.
Year End Review | |||||
Ā | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Number of Patients receiving Naloxone | 48 | 34 | 41 | 54 | 41 |
Average Patient Age | 47 | 43 | 38 | 34 | 42 |
SOURCE: Dare County EMS |
EMS, law enforcement and fire department personnel all administered significantly more naloxone, measured in milligrams, in 2022 than in 2018.
āThe rate of drug overdoses has just gone up, and a good part of that is because of fentanyl,ā said Roxana Ballinger, Dare County DHHS health education and outreach director. āFentanyl isā¦killing people of all ages. Itās killing people who are regular users and itās killing people who just use occasionally.ā
Fleming encourages parents to build strong relationships with their children. Then when they reach the rapid changes of puberty, it is easier to know, āOK, this is not how they handle grief, or this is not how they handle getting upset or getting angryā¦so that you are then able to maybe intervene more quicklyā if substance use occurs.
āSubstance abuse has been a longtime concernā in Dare County, consistently showing up alongside mental health concerns since 2000 in the Community Health Needs Assessment conducted every three years, she said.
Dare County residents, businesses or agencies can reach out to ROSSā peer support specialists, Jesse Ruby and Katy Haslar, via the confidential email addressĀ RecoveryServices@DareNC.gov.
Public health officials are also working on a countywide āfentanyl killsā public awareness campaign, which a portion of the countyās opioid overdose settlement funding will make possible, and they welcome businesses to fill out this online form to participate in that effort.