Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center offers free Narcan – a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose

POMONA, Calif. (KABC) — Patients at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center may notice a new addition outside the emergency room: a Narcan distribution box.

Naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, can reverse a drug overdose if given in a timely manner.

“It works directly on the receptors for opioids in your body,” said Sherrie Cisneros, a substance use nurse at Pomona Valley Medical Center. “It displaces them, and then naloxone reverses the effects of the opioid, and the patient wakes up.”

Cisneros works with patients in the medical center's substance use disorder program, which provides emergency care, public education, prevention tools, resources and referrals for those seeking treatment for substance abuse. She says anyone can fall victim to an overdose.

“We recommend that anyone who is at high risk for overdose have such a medication in their medicine cabinet,” Cisneros said. “Even someone who is taking prescription opioids after surgery or on prescription is still at risk of overdose.”

PVHMC is one of the few hospitals that has installed a naloxone distribution box and provides the drug to the public free of charge.

“This is a great opportunity to make it available to the public … They can just come to the box, get a Narcan, no questions asked, and they're good to go,” Cisneros said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 100,000 people die from overdoses each year. Narcan can be used to treat both illegal and legal drug overdoses.

“Regardless of the reason the person is doing it, we just want to make sure they are safe and don’t end up in the emergency room,” Cisneros said.

In addition to the free packs of Narcan, there are also fentanyl test strips that can detect the powerful synthetic opioid.

“We recommend that they take a fentanyl test strip even if they are taking other drugs,” Cisneros said. “That way they know what they are putting in their body and if they are at high risk for overdose.”