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Press Release: Governor to sign bill to help save lives of overdose victims

For Immediate Release:                                       For more information contact:

July 2, 2014                                    Rep. Michael Frame at (314) 323-2798

 

Governor to sign bill to help save lives of overdose victims

Reps. Frame and Roorda co-sponsored measure relating to first responders

 

Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday will sign legislation co-sponsored by Jefferson County state Reps. Michael Frame and Jeff Roorda into law that will authorize qualified first responders to administer naloxone, a lifesaving counter-measure to overdose that nullifies the effect of opiates.

 

Nixon will sign the measure, House Bill 2040, during a ceremony at High Ridge Fire Department Station No. 3 in House Springs at 11 a.m.

 

HB 2040 passed through both chambers of the General Assembly earlier this year without a dissenting vote. Frame and Roorda have been championing similar legislation for several years. State Rep. Steve Lynch, R-Waynesville, was the lead sponsor of this year’s bill.

 

“Heroin overdose is a huge epidemic in Jefferson County and throughout the state,” said Frame, D-Eureka. “Allowing first responders to immediately administer this treatment to overdose victims on the scene will save precious time and lives.”

 

Without the legal authority to administer naloxone, first responders have to transport victims to a hospital so a doctor can provide the treatment. In too many cases, however, the time lost in transit proves fatal.

 

“This legislation is a prime example of what lawmakers can do help protect the health and safety of Missourians when we work together in a bipartisan fashion for the common good,” said Roorda, D-Barnhart.

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdoses now surpass traffic crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S.  The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reports that heroin overdose fatalities in Jefferson County are more than double the state average.

 

Under the bill, a “qualified first responder” is defined as any law enforcement personnel, fire department personnel or licensed emergency medical technician who has been trained in the use of naloxone.

 

 

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