Sen. Baldacci introduces bill to reduce overdose deaths by expanding EMS training for Narcan

AUGUSTA — On Monday, March 27, Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, introduced a bill to require all licensed Emergency Medical Services workers to be trained in administering Naloxone Hydrochloride, also called Narcan. LD 981, “An Act to Require All Emergency Medical Services Persons to Be Trained in the Dispensing of Naloxone Hydrochloride,” was the subject of a public hearing in the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

“By giving the proper training to our EMS personnel, we can better prepare them for saving more lives across our state for those who are suffering from an overdose,” said Sen. Baldacci. “The opioid epidemic has already taken far too many Mainers. This training is a vital component in savings lives. The proper training and the proper dialogue on how we talk about substance use disorder need to change if we are going to make a positive impact.”

LD 981 requires EMS personnel to be trained in how to administer Naloxone Hydrochloride, commonly referred to as Narcan. The training will instruct personel how to properly administer Naloxone Hydrochloride in the event a patient is overdosing.

This bill idea was presented to Sen. Baldacci by Tonya Dickey, a Bangor constituent who lost her son, Tyson, to an overdose.

“My son, Tyson, struggled with addiction due to medical issues since he was a freshman in high school, which required the doctors to prescribe pain medication,” said Tonya. “Fast forward through our ups and downs he had been clean going on three years, when he needed surgery. The doctors prescribed pain medication, and the day after his prescription ran out he bought something that ended up being fentanyl. I believe had this bill been in place prior to Tysons relapse, he would still be here. In the last several years we have seen a dramatic increase in overdoses. It is a major health threat leaving children without parents, and mothers and fathers without their children. Most professional first responders carry Narcan but not all. That is where this bill comes into play. All first responders should be required to carry, use and be trained how to properly administer Narcan. Not only statewide but hopefully nationwide.”

The drug overdose epidemic in the United States has been an issue states have been battling for years. Back in 2019, drug overdoses were responsible for nearly 71,000 deaths across the United States. Last year, Maine experienced over 700 overdoses over the course of the year, with numbers beginning to climb again this year.

The bill faces further action in committee.