Los Angeles County Library offers Narcan clinics in response to fentanyl deaths

The Los Angeles County Library system is partnering with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in providing help to save lives amid the fentanyl death epidemic.

As fentanyl deaths continue to rise, Narcan, or Naloxone medication has been a lifesaver, as it is used to quickly reverse an opioid overdose.  

All 86 county libraries are stocked with Narcan, and staff has been trained on how to administer the medicine.

According to the L.A. County Department of Health, accidental fentanyl deaths increased 1,652% between 2016 and 2022.  

Now, the library has expanded its Narcan clinics, offering weekly sessions at 10 library branches within the County. The clinics offer training on how to use the medicine, and participants get to take home two doses.

Library Director Skye Patrick said there are no age requirements for the clinics, and no questions will be asked as the program is meant to just provide a service and support.

"We worked with the department of public health here in the County to determine the areas of the County of the highest need … we worked with public health, we tried to distribute it around the County ...,"  Patrick said. "It's very simple and it can save so many lives." 

Naloxone is an FDA-approved nasal spray which can help someone overdosing on fentanyl to start breathing again, until paramedics can arrive.

In a Cedars Sinai newsroom post, Dr. Sam Beckerman recommended everyone keep Narcan in their house, in a home first-aid kit, just like keeping Band-Aids and gauze on hand.

When asked who is at risk for a fentanyl overdose, Beckerman said it's not just people who use drugs regularly.

"It's anybody who experiments with drugs, anybody who takes pills, anybody who might have gotten a pill from a friend for a headache, or being told that this is like a study drug. We're seeing it creep into our high schools and middle schools," Beckerman said.

"These are people who oftentimes had no intention of taking fentanyl, or no intention of taking an opiate, but they end up ingesting a potentially lethal dose, without knowing it, and can die as a result of it." 

The Narcan clinics are available at the following 10 libraries every Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m., through June 26, 2024,

• A C Bilbrew Library
• East Los Angeles Library
• El Monte Library
• Lancaster Library
• Leland R. Weaver Library
• Lennox Library
• Norwalk Library
• San Fernando Library
• Temple City Library
• West Hollywood Library

For more information on the Naloxone Clinics visit LACountyLibrary.org/naloxone.