MMSD Bolsters Student and Staff Safety by Equipping AED Cases with Narcan Amid Opioid Crisis

Ensuring the health and well-being of every student and staff member is a top priority for MMSD’s Health Services Department. And with more than 25,000 students and over 6,000 employees across the district, health services nurses and staff are ready to treat a variety of needs.

Every nurse’s office is supplied with lifesaving medicines, for example albuterol for asthma attacks, epinephrine for severe allergic reactions, and naloxone, often known as Narcan, for opioid overdoses. Narcan is a nasal spray that blocks the effects of opiates on the brain and restores breathing during an opioid overdose. Throughout every school in MMSD, at least one Automated External Defibrillator (AED) device is available to treat sudden cardiac arrest.

Now, through partnerships with UW Health’s Behavioral Health & Recovery Clinic and Public Health of Madison & Dane County (PHMDC), each AED case is also stocked with Narcan. The case is secured with an alarm, immediately alerting those in the vicinity if there’s a medical emergency. Anyone who is trained in administering Narcan or providing CPR can utilize these resources.

“Having both an AED and Narcan readily attainable in busy, high visibility spots increases the safety of anyone who enters our buildings,” MMSD Director of Health Services Kari Stampfli said. “The more proactive safety measurements we have in place, the healthier of an environment we can create for student and staff success.”

As Narcan becomes more widely stocked in school health offices across the nation, organizations such as the American Medical Association advocate for schools to have this life-saving drug available. 

For more well-being and mental health information and resources, please visit our 5 to Thrive webpage.