All MATBUS vehicles now equipped with Narcan

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Fargo Cass Public Health and MATBUS have partnered to equip all MATBUS vehicles with Narcan and to train MATBUS drivers in its use.

During the week of November 6, FCPH conducted 8 training sessions for 65 MATBUS drivers and support staff on opioid overdose response and Narcan administration. FCPH also supplied 75 Narcan kits for placement in all MATBUS vehicles and three kits for the Ground Transportation Center.

Narcan is a name brand of the medication naloxone that is a nasal spray. Naloxone is an antidote to overdose from opioids that restores breathing. It can be used for a suspected opioid overdose when someone isn’t breathing or is breathing very slowly or shallowly.

Both the training and Narcan were provided by the state opioid response grant from the North Dakota Health and Human Services Behavioral Health Division. Says Julie Bommelman, MATBUS Director, “Training staff to use Narcan and having it in all our vehicles means we now know how to identify and effectively respond to someone having an opioid overdose and save lives.”

According to the Cass County Coroner, there were 39 opioid-related deaths in Cass County in 2022. From October 2022 – September 2023, FCPH conducted 88 Narcan trainings, reaching more than 630 individuals. Narcan provided by FCPH was used to save someone’s life a reported 391 times from October 2022 – September 2023.

Groups interested in free training and Narcan are encouraged to contact FCPH Substance Misuse Prevention Coordinator, Robyn Litke Sall, at 701-241-1341.

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