Burbank hospital unveils Narcan kiosk to provide free doses to patients

Providence Saint Joseph's Medical Center unveiled the Narcan kiosk on National Fentanyl Awareness Day this Tuesday to provide life-saving medication to anyone who needs it.

"We did this so that there are absolutely no barriers to people having it," Dr. Angelique Campen said. "You don't even have to come into the hospital — you don't have to come into the ER. You just walk up to the wall out front, open the door and take a package."

While Narcan can reverse the effects of an overdose from opioids like heroin and prescription meds, the hospital focused on fentanyl, which has gained notoriety as a major contributor to fatal overdoses in the US.  

The synthetic drug, which is also an opioid, is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While doctors typically prescribe pharmaceutical fentanyl to patients in severe pain, especially after surgery and advanced-stage cancer, illegally made fentanyl is sometimes added to other drugs to make them stronger, more addictive and ultimately, more dangerous. 

The CDC said over 150 people die from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl every day. In 2021, 106,000 people died from drug overdoses. Most of these deaths, about 70,600 were attributed to synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl.

In 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration said agents seized enough fentanyl in California to kill the world's population twice over. 

To know when to use Narcan, scientists said it's important to recognize the signs:

• Small, constricted "pinpoint pupils"
• Falling asleep or losing consciousness
• Slow, weak or no breathing
• Choking or gurgling sounds 
• Limp body 
• Cold and/or clammy skin 
• Discolored skin, especially in lips and nails. 

The producers of Narcan listed a step-by-step guide on how to use the life-saving drug. 

First, check for a suspected overdose. Next, hold the spray with your thumb on the bottom of the plunger, insert the nozzle into either nostril and firmly press to administer the first dose. After, call 911 and wait at least 2 minutes before giving the second, if the person does not wake up.

Finally, stay until paramedics arrive and give another dose if the person gets sleepy again. You may have to use the entire pack.