More Schools Stocking Drug That Reverses Opioid Overdoses.

NPR (9/16, Faust) reports schools around the country are adding naloxone to the inventory of drugs kept on hand by school nurses. Naloxone can instantly reverse an overdose of opioid painkillers. The article shares the story of a New York mother who revived her son from an overdose and then began advocating for the drug being accessible in schools for such events. New York, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Vermont have all adopted policies to allow school nurses to keep naloxone in their inventories. Schools are responding to a triple-fold increase in opioid overdoses since 2001 spurred by increases in the abuse of prescription medications by teenagers.