Coconino County Adult Probation officers were recently issued Naloxone, an opioid reversal drug, to use in cases of overdoses as part of state’s Opioid Action Plan.   

The department has trained all its officers on how to administer the drug, sold as Narcan, in the field and to be able to recognize suspected opioid overdoses.

“Our probation officers routinely conduct home and field contacts with our clients, many of whom suffer from substance use disorders,” Coconino County Chief Probation Officer Sarah Douthit said in a press release. “We wish to ensure that our officers are equipped to deal with crisis overdose situations with the hopes that we never have to deploy these resources. We believe in treatment and recovery and work with our clients to develop treatment plans to overcome addiction This is one more tool to help in the community in which we live and work.”

The county said the training and equipping of the probation officers with Narcan was done to make sure officers were able to address the problem of overdoses, although cases of reported overdoses remain low in Coconino County.

The training of the county’s adult probation officers is also part of Gov. Doug Ducey’s June 2017 Declaration of Emergency plan to equip first responders with Narcan at no cost to the agencies.