LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced on Tuesday that Narcan, a drug that reverses the deadly effects of overdoses, will be available in every school across the state.
During a news conference on Tuesday, the governor said the state was granted nearly $100,000 in federal grant money to supply each school nurse with a Narcan kit which will be kept on school property.
“Putting this in the hands of school nurses will give every school the capability to save lives,” he said. “The priority has to be saving lives first and then changing behavior.”
The state currently employs 1,100 school nurses and more than 300 have been trained, THV11 reported. The training is all done online.
Ellen Hutchison, a school nurse who received her kit on Tuesday, told the news station that it’s usually around the 6th grade when students start to experiment with opioids.
“We’ve had a couple of instances where we didn’t have to treat but the risk was there. So, it’s time and it’s important to have this with us and in schools.”
