Local Couple Helped Coordinate Narcan Training For Parents In Lacey

Police Chief David A. Paprota credits a local couple with acting as an intermediary between the South Jersey Aids Alliance, police and parents who wanted Narcan training.

Parents who wanted the training sent confidential e-mails to the Lacey Police Department's e-mail, which Paprota then forward to Lacey residents Dan and Darla Dabal.

"The Dabals then contacted the interested parents via e-mail and opened a dialogue leading to their attendance at the training," the chief said.

Paprota got the word out to the community through the police department website, Facebook, Twitter and the media to notify people.

"Those who were interested, were not required to identify themselves to me," he said. "Once the Dabals received the e-mails through me, they then coordinated the person’s attendance at the training. Otherwise, families may have been reluctant to come forward and participate."

The Dabals also helped schedule the South Jersey Aids Alliance to perform the training on May 21 at the conference room in the township recreation building, the chief said.

"The Dabals did not participate in administering the actual training but did coordinate the session with me and the SJAA," Paprota said. "The training was administered by a medical professional from the SJAA. The whole process was run very discreetly to respect the privacy of the families." 

The parents who attended currently live with the daily struggle of assisting a family member who is dealing with opioid addiction, the chief said.

The Naloxone provides the trained family member with an opportunity to assist a loved one should the addicted person relapse and overdose. The medical staff of the South Jersey Aids Alliance supplied each family with a Naloxone kit free of charge. All expenses related to the training were funded through the South Jersey Aids Alliance.

The Overdose Prevention Act of 2013 (N.J.S.A. 24:6j-1 et seq.) includes a provision that permits a person who "may be in a position to assist another individual during an overdose" to receive this special training and obtain the opioid antidote medication. The South Jersey Aids Alliance was gracious enough to offer and facilitate the training.

There are no more training sessions slated for Lacey at this time. Any inquiries received will be referred to the SJAA, Paprota said..