Suffolk cops to carry overdose antidote

Some Suffolk police officers will soon be able to administer the opiate antidote Narcan as part of the county’s effort to provide faster treatment to overdose patients.

Lawmakers passed a bill this week expanding a pilot program to provide Narcan to basic emergency medical technicians with local volunteer ambulance corps. Since police officers receive basic EMT training, officials said they should be able to quickly provide an antidote to heroin or prescription painkiller overdoses.

“They’re often the first responders on the scene, before the ambulance arrives,” bill co-sponsor Legis. Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) said of police.

To start, about 10 to 20 percent of precinct patrol will carry Narcan. The naloxone hydrochloride drug can be given through injection or inhaler, and reverses the effects of opioids within minutes.

Under the approved bill, Suffolk’s health and police departments will review the pilot program’s effectiveness in two years and recommend whether it should be extended. The county has said the number of deaths involving non-heroin opiates — mostly prescription painkillers — increased 70 percent between 2004 and 2011.