Camden County, NJ School Bus Drivers Getting Narcan Kits, Training

School bus drivers in Camden County, New Jersey are about to be equipped with a supply of Narcan and training to use it.

Narcan, also known as Naloxone, is a medication that can reverse the effects of a narcotics overdose.

Camden County Board of Commissioners writes on their official website that so far 104 bus drivers in four of the county's school districts have received Naloxone training.

Triton Regional High School in Runnemede is reportedly the latest Camden County school to add Narcan to its buses.

County officials have been working with Addiction Awareness Task Force to execute distribution.

In a statement, Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said, “Naloxone is a critical tool in our battle against the opioid and overdose epidemic. We need to keep this medicine on hand in every corner of our community because you never know when you are going to need it. Unfortunately, we know that it is possible to lose a child to overdose in a school setting – and most recently on a school bus – so distributing these kits and training school staff is a measure we must take to keep our children safe.”

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Capelli Jr. is referring to a January 2022 incident on a Gloucester Township Elementary School bus where a 5th grade child was found unresponsive after overdosing on Fentanyl. He later died.

In that instance, first responders had to wait for Narcan to arrive on the scene, where unfortunately it was administered too late to save the boy's life, Inquirer.com reports.