Algonquin public library offers training to thwart overdoses

Algonquin Area Public Library District staff has not had to use the Narcan kits they have on-site, marketing coordinator Ryan Jana said.

But library staff hopes that by training friends and family about the opioid overdose-reversing drug, they will save lives elsewhere, too.

Naloxone is a drug used by emergency medical professionals to reverse opioid overdoes. Narcan is the brand name of a nasal aerosol system that delivers the drug to patients. Narcan has been in the library’s medical kits, much like an automated external cardiac defibrillator is, for a few years now, Jana said.

A training session on how to use Narcan took place Thursday.

A second session is set for 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 27, at the library, 2600 Harnish Drive, Algonquin. Registration is required at AAPLD.org, or call 847-458-6060 for more information and to sign up.

A June 10 community alert from the McHenry County Department of Health and the Substance Abuse Coalition underscored the need for those kits to be accessible to the public, Jana said.

The community alert noted a number of overdose deaths in only a few days, he said.

“With drug overdose deaths continuing to rise, it is becoming increasingly important to know how to handle these life-or-death situations when in public,” Jana said in a news release.

The library district partnered with Arlington Heights-based Live4Lali to train others to recognize an opioid overdose and how to use naloxone.

Holly Eberle, teen outreach and programming librarian, said Narcan kits were not checked out like a book but were available to staff.

During the training events, however, Live4Lali will make Narcan kits available to residents.

“We are all about safety and appropriately responding to the need here,” Jana said.