School District of Altoona talks about installing OAKs, Narcan for 'emergency response'

ALTOONA — While it’s a scary thing to face, staff and administration in the School District of Altoona took an extra step to protect students and the community from fentanyl and overdoses.

A little over a week ago, the School District of Altoona saw the installation of four Overdose Aid Kits, or OAK boxes, which gives them access to four naloxone nasal spray devices each, commonly referred to as Narcan. In regards to the OAKs, their school is one of the first in northwest central Wisconsin to install them.

“As I heard about them as an option, it really made sense for us in terms of ‘emergency response,’” said School District of Altoona Superintendent Heidi Eliopoulos. “When we think about emergency response, we think about it in terms of being very prepared to respond in a way that we hope we never need to. Whether it is a fire drill or a tornado drill, having those processes in place we hope we never have to use them but if we do, we have them.”

In helping install and advocate for the accessibility of these tools, staff and administrators were also joined by Sen. Jesse James (R-Altoona) and Jessica Geschke, senior project manager of the Clinton Global Initiative’s (CGI) Overdose Response Network.

“If we look at the statistics, we had (approximately) 110,000 people die from a drug overdose last year,” said Geschke, referencing provisional data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. “And so, when you break down those numbers, two thirds of those deaths were linked to opioids.”

But even more concerning than that, she said, was that an estimated 5% of 12th graders reported misusing prescription drugs in 2021. In the name of protecting students and other members of the community who may be in the school for a number of reasons, James said putting these OAKs in the school is an effort that is proactive instead of reactive.

“Any way that we can get these prevention efforts and self-harm reduction efforts into our schools, that is better for our kids,” he said. “We know that it is in our schools in northwest central Wisconsin — that is a reality, and I am hoping that this will be proactive.”

The kits also address concerns that a dangerous substance such as fentanyl can be spread in unsuspecting forms.

“Fortunately, we have not found fentanyl in our schools, but that is not to say that there couldn’t be an incident in the future. We just want to be prepared should there be an emergency and we need to respond to it,” said Eliopoulos.

But with taking that precaution and discussing some of the modern dangers that drugs and overdose causes, there is certainly both concern as to the stigma surrounding it. Eliopoulos said Narcan has been in the nurse’s office in their school prior to these installations, but the OAKs are much easier to access as they are placed next to AEDs and Epipens in the hallways.

“I understand the fear and the fear of the unknown, and I believe all of our wishes and wants are the same: We all want what is best for our students and we all want to keep them safe,” Eliopoulos said.

Acknowledging the role of families, Eliopoulos said it is also important to have conversations about these dangers.

“We also think that emphasizes the importance of parents talking to their children about drugs, about fentanyl and about the decisions that we are making,” she said. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that at the end of the day the parent is still the number one influence on a child, and the best thing our parents and families can do is talk to their children and ask them questions.”

“We need to get this type of information out to our community so they are aware of it,” said James. “We need to do everything that we possibly can to save our children because we have had children overdose in our schools already in our state. But, we never hear about it because it is always about image, and we have to get past that part.”

The CGI’s Overdose Response Network has already seen the installation of 720 OAKs in the state of Wisconsin. In regards to the installation of the kits and taking those emergency response initiatives, both James and Greschke said they hope to see more schools take advantage of these devices.

“I think it is absolutely amazing,” said Greshke. “I went up and met with the superintendent there, and the teachers were all very perceptive and all trained in naloxone that day. It was extremely moving to see all of them come out on a day where they didn’t have to be there… They are just really leading the charge in that area, and I am very very grateful.”