ABA Health Committee & Northwell LIJ Forest Hills Hospital Team Up To Present NARCAN Training Event

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By Samuel Sabzanov, ABA Health Committee Assistant Director of Community Relations

On Sunday January 27, the Alliance of Bukharian Americans Health Committee co-sponsored a NARCAN Certification and Training workshop with Northwell Health Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital at the Beth Gavriel Bukharian Center. NARCAN (naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray is the first and only FDA-approved nasal form of naloxone for the emergency treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose (think oxycodone, heroin, codeine etc.). The NARCAN Certification and Training event was created to help combat the rising opioid epidemic that is particularly affecting the Bukharian community of Forest Hills and Rego Park. The event commenced with special guest speakers Northwell Health SBIRT Director Dr. Sandeep Kapoor MD, Northwell Health LIJ Forest Hills Emergency Department Chair Dr. Teresa Amato MD, and Nurse Practitioner of Northwell Health LIJ Forest Hills Hospital Emergency Department Ms. Amy Smith. Also present at the event were Northwell Health Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital Associate Medical Director of Family Medicine Dr. Isabella Park DO and Community Services Director Mr. Theodore Lehmann.

The opening remarks were given by ABA Health Committee Chairman Boris Semkhayev and Mr. Lehmann, who stressed the need for reliable drug abuse training in the Bukharian Community of Forest Hills. Dr. Kapoor presented on the need for communities of varying demographic backgrounds in New York City to come together to reverse misnomers and stigma effects associated with substance abuse.  After his presentation and a question-answer session, he gave the floor to the next speaker.

Dr. Amato spoke about the two most common methods leading to substance addiction: prescribed medications that weren’t properly disposed of and recreation-based substance experimentation. She gave many ideas on how to combat the common issues which lead to addiction; many of them were deceptively simple. She explained that one should always lock medical cabinets, or store medicine far away from the reach of children. Another important step is to always be proactive about medication: ask your doctor and pharmacist if the prescribed medication is an opioid! Finally, the simplest and most overlooked solution, throw out those unused meds.

Ms. Smith then focused on how women are more commonly diagnosed with substance abuse than men and the potential errors of this problematic diagnosis. After the guest speakers informed the Bukharian community on these respective topics, Dr. Kapoor lead two practical training sessions to demonstrate proper application of the Narcan kit onto two practice models. Participants who were 18 or older then received their own NARCAN Kit and became NARCAN Certified so that they can act as initial first responders in a substance overdose situation. Dr. Kapoor warned that NARCAN is only active for roughly 60-90 minutes after nasal uptake and the real first step in an overdose situation is to call 911. He also warned that after NARCAN administration, the applicant must stay with the patient until the proper authorities arrived.

Representing the ABA Health Committee at the event were Chairman Boris Semkhayev, Director of Marketing and Public Relations Boris Mashayev, Director of Ethics Daniel Plisthtiyev, Assistant Director of Community Relations Samuel Sabzanov, and Operations Manager Roman Shimonov.