CBS 2 story inspires donation of 2,000 devices to combat overdoses in Cook County
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Last month, an opioid overdose occurred in front of our cameras at a West Side gas station - while our crew was covering a story not related to drugs at all.
In a matter of a seconds, the subject of our story dropped everything, grabbed some Narcan he had in his trunk - and began to save a life.
An out-of-state pharmaceutical company saw the story, and on Monday made a huge donation as a result of the story – which CBS 2's Chris Tye first broke.
Everything about this story was unexpected. On July 25, Matthew McFarland was at an Amoco in Lawndale for us to talk bail reform, of all things - when he spotted someone having an overdose.
"I carry naloxone. I carry it every day and everywhere I go. I saved countless people. I think the count is around 50 people and I haven't lost somebody yet," McFarland said. "But there's been times that it's been real close. One of which, I think you're all aware of, was covered by CBS 2 News."
McFarland has jumped in and done the same more than 50 times. At a news conference Monday, he described what happened to the most recent time.
"Little did I know the cameras were still rolling while this was happening, but we were able to save his life," McFarland said, "and I'm grateful for that."
McFarland was grateful to save the life of the man who overdosed before our cameras, Richie. He is also grateful to have saved his own life – as a former addict himself.
The story McFarland saving the lives of current addicts caught the eye of a Kentucky drug maker with a new product.
"Just to see Matthew's story of just literally walking the streets and carrying naloxone - and bringing people back from the brink of death – was somebody we wanted to work with," said Jake Nichols, director of medical affairs at U.S. World Meds.
U.S. World Meds out of Kentucky donated 2,000 ZIMHI devices Monday to the Cook County Sheriff's Department.
Unlike McFarland's saves, the ZIMHI devices are needle-based rather than nasal, and have a higher dosage for, hopefully, quicker recovery.
"The amount of overdoses is still skyrocketing," said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.
Dart is in charge of utilizing the gift - in a county that last year for the first time saw 2,000 opioid deaths.
He will put the life-saving shots in the hands of treatment response teams - made up of therapists and sheriff's police. The teams find users in alleys and corners countywide - in a crisis that is not slowing down.
"Everything is gloom. There's no bright spot," Dart said. "These are little glimmers of hope that we're going to be able to just maybe we can tread water for a little bit."
The 2,000 doses are reflective of the 2,000 lives lost in the county last year.
The sheriff says the donation is generous, but the devices will all get used in no time.
He credits McFarland with living life as an example - in a drug crisis that is in a deadly league of its own.