header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
March 29
1928 - Little dam victim, thought unidentified & buried in SCV, actually ID'd & buried in Chatsworth [story]
Newhall Cowboys


| Friday, Aug 16, 2019
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital emergency medicine attending physician Darrin Privett demonstrates how anti-overdose drug Narcan is administered on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. | Photo: Katharine Lotze/The Signal.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital emergency medicine attending physician Darrin Privett demonstrates how anti-overdose drug Narcan is administered on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. | Photo: Katharine Lotze/The Signal.

 

Proving just how necessary Narcan has become in saving the lives of SCV heroin addicts, local sheriff’s deputies dispatched Thursday for an unresponsive man feared dead in the bathroom of a Stevenson Ranch restaurant watched signs of life return to the man after paramedics administered the drug.

At 11:40 a.m., first responders were called to the McDonald’s Restaurant on Chiquella Lane, near Lyons Avenue, for reports of a man found slumped over and unresponsive in the restroom.

Deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and paramedics with the Los Angeles
County Fire Department got to the restaurant within three minutes.

A manager with the restaurant was there to greet them. When he was asked if the man was dead or alive, the manager replied: “Seriously, I don’t know.”

“We responded to McDonald’s around that time for an unresponsive male in the bathroom,” said Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station.

One of the responding deputies, confirming it was a drug overdose, said: “When firefighters got him, he didn’t look too good,” noting one of the paramedics administered Narcan.

The man was taken to the hospital at 12:15 p.m., Fire Department spokeswoman Melinda Choi said.

Within about a half-hour of the emergency call, the situation was resolved and a life saved.

Two years ago, Narcan was introduced in a public ceremony as the latest weapon in the arsenal of deputies battling a growing opioid problem in the SCV. Civic leaders, sheriff’s deputies and doctors stood shoulder-to-shoulder against the nationwide opioid epidemic and unveiled the use of a medical tool promising to help stop overdose deaths and prevent heroin and opioids from devastating the Santa Clarita Valley.

It was a response to a rash of overdose cases witnessed in the SCV. During a 72-hour period in April 2017, eight overdose patients turned up at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. One person died.

After Capt. Robert Lewis of the SCV Sheriff’s Station officially unveiled Narcan, each of the 240 sworn personnel at the SCV Sheriff’s Station were trained in the use of and equipped with the anti-overdose drug.

In a check with the captain on Monday on how Narcan is holding up two years later, Lewis said the number of lethal overdoses has been dropping.

“There were nine ODs this year,” he said, referring to overdose deaths. “Last year we had 14.”

“I want the number to be at zero,” he said.

Lt. Ignacio Somoano, who heads the station’s Detective Section, also reflected on the effectiveness of the drug, noting: “We use Narcan to bring them back to life.”

Somoano cited a traffic collision just last month in which the driver overdosed while driving. Narcan was administered in that case and the driver regained consciousness.

On the day Narcan was unveiled on the steps of the SCV Sheriff’s Station, Dr. Darrin Privett of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital explained how Narcan saves lives.

He referred to it as an “opioid antagonist,” which he said “competes with opioids in the body, making that opioid ineffective.”

Privett stressed the importance for anyone finding a person unconscious due to an overdose to make sure the victim is getting oxygen.

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
April 16: FYI Seeks Volunteers To Pair With Local Foster Youth
Local nonprofit Fostering Youth Independence is seeking “Allies” to support Santa Clarita youth who are aging out of the L.A. County foster care system.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
California Announces $25 Million in Awards for Youth Mental Health
To support the mental health of California's young people, the California Department of Public Health awarded $25 million to 28 tribal and community-based organizations across the state.
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
1928 - Little dam victim, thought unidentified & buried in SCV, actually ID'd & buried in Chatsworth [story]
Newhall Cowboys
Los Angeles County Public Works is updating the Los Angeles County Bicycle Master Plan.
April 16:  County Bicycle Master Plan Virtual Community Meeting
College of the Canyons mens golf got back on track during its return to conference play on Monday, carding a five-man score of 370 to top the eight-team field at Brookside Golf Course and maintain its unblemished conference mark.
Cougars Win Again, Keep Conference Streak
Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, reminds property owners that the second installment of the 2023-24 Annual Secured Property Taxes becomes  delinquent if not received by 5 p.m. Pacific Time or United States Postal Service postmarked on or before Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
County Treasurer Reminds Property Owners of April 10 Due Date
Local nonprofit Fostering Youth Independence is seeking “Allies” to support Santa Clarita youth who are aging out of the L.A. County foster care system.
April 16: FYI Seeks Volunteers To Pair With Local Foster Youth
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health today unveiled the latest L.A. County Health Survey, which gathers vital data on health behaviors, conditions, neighborhood settings, and the needs of L.A .County residents, informing future public health policies and programs.
Public Health Unveils the 2023 L.A. County Health Survey Findings
Due to the projected rain forecast, Eggstravaganza will now be held indoors at the Canyon Country Community Center beginning promptly at 10 a.m. on March 30.
March 30: Eggstravaganza Now Being Held Indoors at Canyon Country Community Center
To support the mental health of California's young people, the California Department of Public Health awarded $25 million to 28 tribal and community-based organizations across the state.
California Announces $25 Million in Awards for Youth Mental Health
The College of the Canyons Athletic Department will host a dedication ceremony to unveil the Michele Jenkins Softball Team Room in honor of the longtime board member and ardent softball program supporter’s nearly 40 years of service to the district.
April 16: COC to Host Michele Jenkins Team Room Dedication Ceremony
PFLAG Santa Clarita has announced the establishment of the Peggy and Jeff Stabile PFLAG SCV Scholarship. The scholarship will provide financial assistance to LGBTQIA+ students pursuing higher education and committed to advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights and promoting diversity and inclusion.
PFLAG SCV Announces Stabile PFLAG Scholarship
1934 - Bouquet Canyon Reservoir, replacement for ill-fated St. Francis Dam & reservoir, begins to fill with water [story]
Bouquet Reservoir
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale invites the community to "Let the Sunshine In," a delightful evening of food, wine and song at the annual Cabaret & Cabernet fundraising benefit.
April 20: Santa Clarita Master Chorale’s Cabaret, Cabernet Fundraiser
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the below Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in ocean waters:
March 27 Ocean Water Warning
As an integral ingredient necessary to help the Santa Clarita Valley to flourish, feedback from the business community is the secret sauce for achieving great things.
SCVEDC Asks For the Business Community’s Opinion on Santa Clarita
Raise your heart rate while raising funds for the Santa Clarita Sister Cities Dollars-for-Desks campaign to provide school desks for students in Sariaya, Santa Clarita's Sister City in the Philippines.
April 13: Sister Cities Zumba-thon Fundraiser
Remo, Inc. is is the world's leading manufacturer and developer of synthetic drumheads and shells. They’ve been in business for 60 years
SCVEDC Company Spotlight: Drumming Up Big Business with Remo, Inc.
California State Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) and Assemblyman James Ramos (D-Highland) have introduced AB 3074 the "School or athletic team names: California Racial Mascots Act."
Schiavo Introduces Bill to Prohibit ‘Derogatory’ School Mascot Names
Los Angeles County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department  in collaboration with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles is proud to announce the 2nd Annual Pitch Competition for the cohorts of JCOD's Incubation Academy.
March 28: JCOD Incubation Academy Helps Grassroots Non-Profits For the Second Year
Children’s Bureau is seeking foster families and now offers two virtual ways for individuals and/or couples to learn how to help children in foster care while reunifying with birth families or how to provide legal permanency by adoption.
April 18: Children’s Bureau Hosts Virtual Orientation
The Sunburst track was constructed in 1887 by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was a part of the main line running between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Enjoy Spring With a Ride On The Sunburst Track
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a Personal Finance Summit today where he announced his support for Assembly Bill 2927 (McCarty), legislation that would require a personal finance education course for California high school graduation.
State Superintendent Announces Support for Personal Finance Graduation Requirement
1847 - Probable birth date of Pico Canyon oil driller Charles Alexander Mentry [story]
C.A. Mentry
SCVNews.com