{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://hultgren.house.gov//newsroom/in-the-news/dekalb-county-police-start-training-to-use-heroin-antidote", "DeKalb County police start training to use heroin antidote", "2014-10-16", "2014", "2014-10", "Republican", "House", "IL", "Randy Hultgren", "H001059", "hultgren.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "SYCAMORE \u2013Area police officers began training this week to administer Narcan, a heroin and opiate antidote that can save an overdosing patient.\n\tThe first Narcan Overdose Prevention Program training includes the county\u2019s largest police forces: the county sheriff\u2019s department, DeKalb police, Sycamore police and Northern Illinois University police. KishHealth Systems and NIU police will lead the training.\n\tDeKalb County Board chair Jeff Metzger, R-Sandwich,\u00a0wanted to launch the Narcan pilot program\u00a0after attending a roundtable discussion on drug awareness earlier this year with U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, a Winfield Republican. After the discussion, Metzger created and\u00a0has worked\u00a0with a task force, which included police agencies, county officials and KishHealth Systems, to bring the Narcan program to the county. County officials ordered a nasal spray form of the opiate antidote this week.\n\tIn recent years, heroin overdoses have been a concern in DeKalb County, as well as Chicago\u2019s collar counties. Three of DeKalb County\u2019s seven fatal drug overdoses in 2013 were attributed to heroin, with two of the six drug overdoses through August this year coming from heroin,according to records\u00a0from DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller\u2019s office. Twelve of the 17 fatal heroin overdoses in DeKalb County between January 2010 and September 2014 have occurred in men age 35 or younger, according to a Daily Chronicle review of DeKalb County Coroner\u2019s Office records.\n\tSycamore police Sgt. Rod Swartzendruber complimented the Narcan program, adding that training began for Sycamore police Wednesday.\n\t\u201cI\u2019m thrilled,\u201d Metzger said. \u201cI\u2019m very excited, not only to bring it to DeKalb County, but to possibly save some lives. I\u2019m thrilled by how fast we were able to put this process together.\u201d\n\tKishHealth System volunteered to cover the cost of equipping participating police officers with Narcan, as well as a refill, since the product has a two-year shelf life, Metzger said. It would cost about $6,000 to equip county-area officers with the product. Metzger said he was looking into donations and other means of funding the project when KishHealth stepped up.\n\tPatrick Gannon, KishHealth System\u2019s EMS medical director and member of the task force, said he is excited that an immediate treatment like Narcan will be available.\n\t\u201cIf this can save a couple of lives, it will be worth it,\u201d Gannon said.\n\tBoth Metzger and DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said the success rate in neighboring counties is promising. Metzger said DuPage County program, which has saved 18 lives in 19 attempts since it started in January, gave DeKalb County leaders information during the planning process.\n\tMargi Gilmour, director of DeKalb County Court Services, was selected as the director of the program as an addition to her responsibilities. Gilmour, along with county coordinator Mary Supple, will oversee the Narcan program\u2019s initial implementation.\n\tGilmour and Supple will be in contact with remaining police agencies in the county in the near future to gauge interest. Anyone interested in the program can contact Supple at 815-895-7189 or Gilmour at 815-895-7199.\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re really ready to roll out the program and see how it goes,\u201d Metzger said.\n\tAbout Narcan\n\t\u2022 Also called naloxone\n\t\u2022 Blocks effects of opiates such as heroin, morphine, oxycodone, methadone, fentanyl, and codeine.\n\t\u2022 Can be administered by shot or nasal spray\n\t\u2022 Can help patients who show symptoms of overdosing, such as slowed breathing, limpness, vomiting or gurgling.\n\tSource: WebMD", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://hultgren.house.gov//newsroom/in-the-news/dekalb-county-police-start-training-to-use-heroin-antidote"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.655725995078683, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}