Public Narcan opioid training at NCTC this Monday

A public training course for the use of Narcan in the event of an opioid overdose is being offered in Graham next week.

The free course will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, May 12 at North Central Texas College and be led by Central Plains Center Hub Coordinator Rhonda Uptergrove. 

The North Texas Central Plains Center Hub organization serves people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities, substance use disorders and those with developmental delays. 

Opioids are a class of drugs that include heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and pain relievers by prescription such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine and others,  according to Texas Health and Human Services.

“One in four Texans has experienced an opioid overdose (or poisoning) or knows someone who has,” HHS states on its website. “You can save a life by knowing how to respond when someone is experiencing an overdose from opioids, including fentanyl.”

The Narcan dose pack will be provided by the organization and those who want to attend the training must RSVP in order to have enough available for attendees. To RSVP for the training, email lburgess@brazos.net.

Following the training, there will be a questions and answer session with members of the Central Plains Group, Graham EMS and Graham Police Department. 

This will be the second training session for Narcan in Young County after representatives from the Central Plains Center led two classes Thursday, March 27 at the Olney Civic Center in partnership with the Olney Police Department.

Signs of an opiate overdose include troubled breathing that is slow and shallow, snoring sounds, gasps for air and choking or gurgling. 

Other signs of overdose include if an individual is unresponsive, has blue lips or fingernails, has pale or ashy skin that is cool to the touch, pinpoint pupils or their pulse is slow.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. overdose deaths rose from 49,860 in 2019 to 81,806 in 2022.