BCS Rotary Clubs distributes free Narcan kits, raising awareness on opioid and fentanyl crisis

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Rotary Club Aggieland, Bryan, and College Station passed out free Narcan kits to the community Saturday morning.

Narcan is a brand name for the medicine naloxone. Naloxone will reverse the effects of a fentanyl or opioid overdose.

Inside the kits were the Narcan spray, a face mask, gloves, and an instruction sheet on how to administer the medicine.

Narcan kit

At the event, there was training on the opioid and fentanyl crisis, how to recognize overdose signs, and details on how to administer the Narcan.

“Narcan is the brand name for the medicine called naloxone. It’s in a little spray and if someone is going through a fentanyl overdose, opioid overdose, you administer this through the nostrils,” said Elena Scoggins, President of the Aggieland Rotary Club. “We may not have a crisis here in Bryan and College Station with opioid and fentanyl but let’s keep it that way. You hear stories outside of here of kids dying, you know taking some pills they didn’t realize were laced with fentanyl you know and just dying from it. You don’t hear many stories here in Bryan and College Station and that’s a good thing but it may happen here anytime soon and we just need to be able to be prepared.”

During the training, it was discussed that you never know when a pill is laced with fentanyl.

“It’s a problem and it’s a problem in Texas because we have this close relationship with Mexico where all this elicit fentanyl is coming in like fake pills or laced in other pills that might not even be for illegal purposes, but is kind of out there in the world,” said Bunny Pratt the Public Image Chair for Bryan Rotary Club.

For Elena Scoggins, the importance of this event hits close to home.

“My mother-in-law has pain medication and she took two pills one time and we had to take her to the ER and so the doctor actually prescribed Narcan for her. So next time that happens, she could, you know, it saves lives, ” said Scoggins.

Even though there is not an opioid and fentanyl crisis in Bryan and College Station, Scoggins said the community must be prepared.

“It’s something that you should just be prepared and have it. Kind of like CPR training, you should know CPR training so it’s I just think people need to be more aware of it,” said Scoggins.

Pratt told KBTX that there was a community member there who spoke up and said that Narcan saved her life from a fentanyl overdose.

There were about 50 people who attended and about 150 kits were assembled at the event.