Sullivan County Probation Officers Save Life with Narcan

Probation Officers Anna Bernhart and Vinny Reilly used their Narcan training to save a life in Sullivan County earlier this week.

According to the Times Herald Record the two officers were sent out on Tuesday (October 18th) at 12:30pm to serve a warrant at the Hilldale Dorms in Hurleyville. As the officers approached they heard someone on the other side exclaim "Oh my god, he's turning blue put him in the bathtub." The officers entered the room and found a 27 year old parolee in the tub with the shower water running suffering from a heroine overdose.

The man was not breathing. Officer Reilly gave the man a dose of Narcan, the first dose did not work and after a second attempt the suspect became conscious. According to Reilly, the man woke up with the syringe cap in his mouth and shrugged it off like he "didn’t seem to grasp what had just happened.”

While Officer Reilly administered the Narcan, Officer Bernhart called 911. Fallsburg police and Mobile Medic EMT showed up to the scene moments later. It was the first time for both of the officers handling an overdose situation with Narcan since their Narcan training in April 2015.

Narcan is an opiate antidote. If a person takes an opiate and then given Narcan, the opioids will be knocked out of the opiate receptors in the brain.