PALM CITY, Fla. — A retired firefighter-paramedic is giving away free naloxone to help fight the opioid epidemic.
WPTV reported that Luis Garcia is using his own savings to buy naloxone doses and hand them out to employees of local businesses that could potentially encounter a drug overdose.
Not only does Garcia hand out the doses, he also gives a 90-minute CPR, AED and naloxone class to instruct the employees on how to respond to an overdose situation.
“I felt helpless hearing about all these increasing opioid overdoses ... so I just want to be able to help save lives,” Garcia said.
Garcia plans to purchase 400 doses of naloxone in the next year.
You can follow Garcia’s overdose-reducing efforts here.
rockstoagunfight on December 3rd, 2018 at 21:21 UTC »
Is this uplifting? It seems like more of a systemic healthcare failure if this guy is paying for it out of his own pocket.
fuzzy_spaghetti on December 3rd, 2018 at 17:30 UTC »
At least in N.C., Narcan is given for free to anyone who enters a pharmacy and asks for it.
CanisPecuarius on December 3rd, 2018 at 17:18 UTC »
Paramedic here. It is soooo easy to get burned out in this job. Especially running narcotic overdoses. The fact he still gives a damn after a career of getting his ass kicked, puked on, watching people die, and being called “just an ambulance driver” speaks volumes to his character. Good guy