Emergency responders in Juneau carry overdose kits when they respond to 911 calls. They can give them to people ahead of potential overdose situations or they can replace a kit that’s already been used.
An overdose rescue kit that Capital City Fire and Rescue distributes to people when they get a 911 call for an overdose in Juneau, Alaska on April 15, 2022.
In each kit are two doses of Narcan, which is a nasal spray that stops someone from overdosing on opioids. There’s also a fentanyl testing strip so people can test their own opioids for contamination and a safe bag to dispose of pills in the kit.is getting the overdose rescue kits out to people throughout the state.
“Because a lot of the time we show up and someone’s overdosed on opiates, and we administer Narcan or they administer Narcan, a lot of those people don’t actually go to the hospital,” Pantiskas said. “They just stay home, or they go about their day. And we never know about it.”