Overdose victims saved by Narcan have a long road ahead of them for recovery, but where does it begin? Watch video
WEST DEPTFORD TWP. -- When Kellymae Hemphill, 25, overdosed Sunday afternoon on the side of Crown Point Road, a bystander stopped and started chest compressions. Her brother breathed into her mouth, trying to get her lungs working again.
Police and EMS soon arrived and gave her a dose of Narcan -- an opiate antidote -- and brought her to a local hospital.
Hemphill's overdose and subsequent save was recorded and posted on YouTube, garnering a lot of attention, but for her -- and other addicts, what comes next? Narcan can save a life, but can it change a life?
Since law enforcement officers began carrying Narcan in 2014 more than 100 saves have occurred using the drug in Gloucester County alone.
Once the victim is brought to a hospital and checked out, however, it is often the end of law enforcement involvement.
"Once we get them to the hospital, there's nothing else the police can do," West Deptford Police Chief Sam DiSimone said.
A bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie in 2013 made it so those revived from an overdose, and anyone who stayed with them to render aid, could not be charged with a crime, even if they still have illegal drugs in their possession.
"As far as I'm concerned the lawmakers took away another tool that we had," DiSimone said. "it's almost like it's getting to be a safety net, this Narcan...You don't want to see anybody die. You want to see everybody saved, but there has to be some kind of consequences."
The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office is working with local hospitals -- who supply the Narcan to police departments -- to get overdose victims some sort of help before they are sent back onto the street.
A recovery coach program is in the works, which will pair addicts with a coach in the hospital who can walk them through the process of finding a bed in a rehab center, working it out with their insurance or with finding grants and being there for them as they enter the recovery process, according to Sgt. Danielle Lorusso, who heads the prosecutor's office's Opiate Initiative.
"It's a really great program and a really great resource," she said.
A pamphlet that contains multiple phone numbers, websites and other resources for addicts looking to enter recovery is also being created for Gloucester County police officers to hand out to anyone they come in contact with who may need it.
In neighboring Camden County, where more than 300 saves occurred since 2014, a program has begun where the county assists addicts with getting into rehab programs.
Operation SAL is funded by the county's Homelessness Prevention Trust and aims to turn overdose patients willing to participate over to detox and outpatient treatment at Delaware Valley Medical in Pennsauken, Freeholder Director Lou Cappelli told New Jersey Advance Media last year.
Rebecca Forand may be reached at rforand@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @RebeccaForand. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.