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PSTA making Narcan more accessible in hopes of reversing opioid overdoses

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Published  August 31, 2024 4:16pm EDT
Pinellas County
FOX 13 News

PSTA employees receiving Narcan training

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority is the first transit agency in Florida to install Narcan kits at its bus terminals while training employees on how to use it to help save lives.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) installed new Narcan kits at its four bus terminals and is training employees on how to use this medication, aimed at reversing opioid overdoses.

PSTA told FOX 13 it is the first transit agency in the state to offer a Narcan training program like this.

"We transport a lot of people every day. And we've seen, there are times when people go unresponsive and that could be for a preexisting medical condition. It could be for something else," PSTA safety, security, and training supervisor Eddie Kester said. "And we want to be equipped with the right tools for the job."

Data from the Pinellas County Opioid Task Force shows there has been a steady increase in accidental opioid overdose deaths in Pinellas County since 2018.

"We know we have a challenge," Kester said. "We're putting things out there that we think can help people who are in need around Pinellas."

Narcan is a nasal spray that works to reverse an opioid overdose.

READ: 'Sarasota Fights Fentanyl' remembers those who have lost their lives, helps others battling addiction

"It could be either heroin, which is obviously an illicit drug. It could be prescription medication," Dan Zsido, a retired lieutenant with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, told FOX 13. "It could be oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine. Of course, street drugs. Fentanyl."

Zsido – who served 40 years in law enforcement, mostly in narcotics investigations – is in the process of training hundreds of PSTA employees on how to use these new Narcan kits.

"This little, tiny device with a very small amount of fluid ultimately can mean the difference between life and death," Zsido said of the Narcan nasal spray.

These kits were installed in locations that only PSTA staff has access to ahead of Saturday, Aug. 31, which is International Overdose Awareness Day.

PSTA is now trying to spread the word so that passengers and others will know that life-saving help is available at these bus terminals.

"The idea is to get the familiarity out there," Kester said.

READ: PSTA to add electric, hybrid buses to its fleet using federal grant money

"Maybe we could be a pilot program for other counties," Zsido said. "But I'm just glad that we're able to take this further now and save more lives.

A Narcan kit was also installed at PSTA headquarters. Moving forward, officials said they would like to eventually have Narcan kits on all the buses themselves. 

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