FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aug. 16, 2023

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) are joining forces to make opioid overdose reversal medication available to schools across the state.  

Earlier this year the South Carolina Legislature passed House Bill 4122, which Governor McMaster signed into law, authorizing DHEC, in consultation with SCDE, to create and update a list of lifesaving medications school nurses and trained staff are authorized to use in schools and provide guidelines for each medication.  

For the 2023-24 school year, DHEC is authorizing the use of naloxone (Narcan) nasal spray and albuterol inhalers along with the previously approved epinephrine auto-injectors (e.g., EpiPen).  

Albuterol is used to treat or prevent difficulty breathing, wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, and chest tightness in patients with asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and other lung diseases. Epinephrine is used to treat severe allergic reactions.  

“We are dedicated to saving lives in schools by expanding access to these emergency medications, through our partnership with schools and the Department of Education,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, DHEC Director of Public Health. 

In addition to providing training guidelines to schools for all three medications, DHEC is partnering with SCDE to issue naloxone to schools that want it across the state during a distribution event August 16-18.  

“Naloxone is the lifesaving medication we hope no school nurse or trained school staff person ever has to administer, but we are in the middle of an opioid epidemic and need to be realistic and prepared,” said Victoria Ladd, State School Nurse Consultant. “While naloxone does not provide prevention for addiction, it can save lives when a person has taken too many opioid-containing drugs or medications so the person can live to get the help they need.” 

Naloxone, when administered in time, can reverse the effects of overdose from opioids (oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, fentanyl, and others) and heroin. It is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and does not cause any harm if administered to someone not experiencing an opioid overdose.  

“It is vital that all communities are prepared to respond to an overdose and save lives, regardless of where the incident might occur,” said Michelle Nienhius, Manager of Prevention & Intervention Services for the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS). “DAODAS is in full support of DHEC providing naloxone to schools, and we encourage the state’s teachers and school administrators to also familiarize themselves with the public treatment and recovery services available throughout South Carolina.” 

Through its partnership with SCDE, two boxes of naloxone (each containing two doses for a total of four doses per school) have been made available for pickup to every K-12 school in South Carolina who wants it. Funds for the supply being made available to schools was awarded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s cooperative agreement Overdose Data-to-Action.  There is no cost to the schools for the Narcan. 

The availability of naloxone in South Carolina schools comes amid a continued increase in drug overdose deaths in the state and the country over the past several years.  

From 2020 to 2021, the total number of drug overdose deaths in South Carolina increased by more than 430 individuals, from 1,734 deaths to 2,168: an increase of more than 25%. By comparison, there were only 573 drug overdose deaths in the state in 2012. 

Opioids continue to be the primary cause of overdose deaths in recent years, contributing to 1,733 of the 2,168 fatal overdoses in 2021.  

The new law allows life-saving medication to be administered to not only students but also to staff, parents and campus visitors as necessary, to help save lives in school communities. It can be used within the school or at any school-associated activity or event, such as sporting events. 

For more information on naloxone/Narcan, please visit the opioid epidemic page of the DHEC website.