Hundreds of Narcan kits deployed across Vance, surrounding counties

A second shot at life? That's what supporters of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone say.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Narcan kits were deployed on the streets of Vance and surrounding counties. Narcan is the only FDA-approved nasal form of naloxone.

"In the state of North Carolina, we're seeing about four overdose deaths a day," said Tedra Anderson Brown, medical director with Cardinal Innovations.

Health professionals with Cardinal Innovation say combating the numbers means everyone is armed with Narcan.

"We absolutely believe the average person should have this, given the nature of the opioid crisis that we're in right now. It's a public health crisis," Anderson Brown said.

The Narcan is easy to use. It is a nasal spray.

"You lift the persons head, insert in their nostril, pushing all the way through," she said.

The 800 kits packed on Wednesday will go to schools, first responders, health departments, members of the community who expressed interest and family members of addicts, including Kathy Quinn, who son died of an overdose.

"We went upstairs, and we went to his bedroom door, and he had never even made it to the bedroom that night," she said. "They said it was the heroin with the fentanyl."

Quinn had Narcan on hand, but it wasn't fast enough.

"We went from planning his birthday celebration to, on his birthday, picking out a casket," she said.

Quinn now helps point families to addiction resources.

"If it brings somebody back and they can possible can get another chance, then why in the world would you want to take that away from somebody? Once you're gone, you're gone. You're not coming back," she said.

Last week, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams issued a national advisory Thursday urging more Americans to keep on hand and learn how to use naloxone.

It was the first advisory issued by a surgeon general since 2005 and it underscored the urgency of addressing an opioid epidemic that has killed more than 250,000 people over the past decade, including more than 42,000 people in 2016.

The state of North Carolina's good Samaritan law protects citizens who administer Narcan to a person they believe has overdosed.

Cardinal Innovations will be delivering 8,000 kits across North Carolina.