Save lives at UTD with naloxone training

University Emergency Medical Response (UEMR) is a registered First Responder organization and independent non-profit entity. UEMR focuses on providing quality, campus-based emergency medical care at no cost to the over 30,000 students, faculty and staff residing on the UT Dallas Campus. UEMR also provides initial EMS education services through the non-profit entity to UT Dallas students/staff and the surrounding community, including EMT-B, Paramedic, CPR, First Aid, BLS courses and more.

This year we are fundraising for a public health initiative regarding a vital lifesaving drug, naloxone. Naloxone (commonly known as NARCAN) is a drug that helps reverse life threatening opioid overdoses. Our initiative seeks to expand knowledge of this valuable resource, including how to use it and its critical value on a college campus. 

In collaboration with the UTD Student Government, this project will primarily seek to educate the students on campus, as well as distribute it to them for emergency use. We hope to be able to continue this initiative in the coming years as well. Our fundraising goal is $1,000 and we seek to use these funds to obtain naloxone to distribute around campus and bolster a larger scale education campaign for the UTD community. In the case of an overdose, every second matters, and although we as first responders will reach there as fast as we can, if a bystander who calls is able to administer naloxone before we arrive, the chances of a positive outcome for the patient is greatly increased. 

Training like this, in educating the general community, as well as making their access to resources more readily available, truly has the ability to save lives and has the possibility to make a difference in the lives of many people in our community. 

You can follow us at @utduemr