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Wisconsin State Patrol officers now trained to administer Narcan

827 people died of opioid overdoses in WI in 2016
Wisconsin State Patrol officers now trained to administer Narcan
Posted at 8:55 AM, Jan 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-20 09:55:06-05

MILWAUKEE -- All 489 State Patrol officers in Wisconsin are now trained and equipped to administer the life-saving opioid antidote Narcan.

The administer of Narcan is likely the reason one overdose victim lived on New Year's Eve.

On New Year's Eve, a Spooner Post State Patrol trooper, Sawyer County Sheriff's deputy and Lac Courte Oreilles police officer responded to a report of an unresponsive 41-year-old female suspected of overdosing on heroin.

The woman's breath and pulse were weak, but after the trooper administered a dose of Narcan her condition quickly improved.

From 2000 to 2016, the number of deaths due to prescription opioids in Wisconsin increased 600 percent from 81 deaths in 2000 to 568 deaths in 2016 according to the Department of Health Services. 

“Opioid abuse is an increasingly difficult challenge for law enforcement and emergency responders across the state,” said Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent J.D. Lind. “Our primary mission is to save lives, and equipping all our officers with Narcan provides another important tool to help us carry out that mission.”