Regional Fentanyl Overdoses Inspire Campus Preparedness

A rise in the number of drug overdoses in Poughkeepsie and the Hudson Valley, principally as a result of the presence of Fentanyl in many illicit drugs, has prompted Vassar health officials to add a new tool—Narcan—to campus first-aid kits.

For years, the kits have contained an automatic external defibrillator (AED) and a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) kit. Health Service Director Margot Schinella ’06 said the College has added a kit containing two doses of Narcan, which can revive drug overdose victims, as well as a bleeding control kit.

Schinella said overdoses can occur when a user ingests even a relatively small amount of the opioid or other substances laced with Fentanyl, which depresses the respiratory system and ultimately the heart rate, leading to cardiac arrest. She said there has been only one suspected drug overdose among the Vassar student body in the past few years, “but Vassar is an open campus; many people from the nearby community come here, so it’s important to have this resource. We respond to all medical emergencies on campus, and, given the high incidence of overdoses in Dutchess County, more than ever we need people who are trained to help.”

Now that the small containers of Narcan nasal spray have been added to the first-aid kits, the Health Service office has been conducting a series of training sessions on how to administer it. Four members of the Vassar community who attended a recent training session said they wanted to be prepared to help anyone who may need resuscitation from an overdose on campus. “I knew of someone who needed it a while ago,” said Sia Galii, Executive Assistant to the Dean of the College Carlos Alamo Pastrana, “and I want to be ready to help others in the future.”

Gordon Chang ’26, a member of Vassar’s student EMT squad, said he had received Narcan training when he was certified but had never administered it and decided it would be a good idea to take a refresher course. “There’s always a possibility something may happen here on Founders Day, so I want to be prepared,” Chang said.

Another student who attended the training, Mariam Towobola ’28, said she planned to become an EMT herself soon and decided to learn as much as she could about how to help those who may have overdosed.

A third student who attended the training session, Lyla Jones ’28, said she had never known anyone who needed to be revived, “but I want to be ready to do anything I can in these situations.”

The first-aid kits are located in the following areas:

• Gordon Commons
• The Chapel
• Main Building
• Locker rooms in Kenyon Hall and Weinberg Athletic Pavilion at Prentiss Fields
• Walker Field House and the Athletics and Fitness Center
• Baldwin, the Health Service Office
• Thompson Library
• Facilities Operations Office
• The Environmental Cooperative Building at Vassar Farm
• Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
• Skinner Hall
• Wimpfheimer Nursery School

For more information, visit the Health Emergencies section of the Health Service website. The AED+ locations are included on the Campus Map.