SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) - Narcan use by the Sheboygan Fire Department continues to increase, but it’s not just for heroin overdoses.
Sheboygan Fire Deputy Chief Charles Butler says Narcan was administered 55 times last year, continuing an upward trend of the drug’s use since 2008, when it was used 29 times.
Butler says the drug is used in certain situations when reviving a patient is needed. "Sometimes it’s given just as a ruling-out type of a drug, and sometimes it’s given for a particular reason, and then, sometimes we know exactly what the problem is."
Narcan works on any narcotic overdose, but has gotten more attention recently as a way to save a person’s life when they overdose on heroin. Because of this, Butler says they share their increasing Narcan numbers with the Sheboygan Police Department. "Whereby they can actually go out and get grants and program funding to actually do a better job of combating that," says Butler.