Meriden Police Chief Jeffry W. Cossette emailed Mayor Kevin Scarpati and members of the Meriden City Council recently to let them know that officers had helped save the life of an opioid overdose victim by administering the medication Naloxone, or Narcan, after receiving training from Rushford representatives.

In the email, Cossette said two officers found an unresponsive man on the street on Jan. 3, and quickly determined he had overdosed. The officers quickly administered Narcan, which reversed the overdose symptoms and allowed the victim to recover, the chief said.

Cossette praised the officers who alertly administered the Narcan, as well as the Rushford representatives who provided Narcan training to department officers during a series of sessions in November.

“We are very proud to see that the Meriden police officers have been able to take their training and use it in a real-life situation where someone was able to benefit from it,” said Sheryl Sprague, Rushford prevention manager. “The ongoing collaboration between Rushford and Meriden police is certainly having a positive impact on our community.”

 

Here is an excerpt from Cossette’s message:

“The training for the Narcan was completed in November with Narcan being issued to uniformed officers. Although we are not first responders for medical calls for service, there is clearly a time in which we are the first emergency personnel on the scene of an incident. In this instance, [the officers] were instrumental in saving someone’s life.

“This is our first administration of Narcan. I wanted to update all of you on our progress. Our partnership with Rushford (providing the training and 70 doses of Narcan) is instrumental in providing this public service.”

For more information on addiction treatment, visit Rushford.