RCMP officers from across the B.C. southern Interior are being recognized for saving and attempting to save lives with Naloxone since 2016 – and two Okanagan officers are leading the pack.
At least a dozen Mounties are to be recognized at least three or more times for their life-saving efforts during separate occasions, on behalf of the District Commander for the RCMP Southeast District.
Leading the pack is, Sgt. Greg Woodcox of the Kelowna RCMP Community Safety Unit who is being recognized an astounding seven times.
Also noted is Supt. Shawna Baher, the officer-in-charge of Vernon North Okanagan RCMP, for her leadership and dedication to the implementation of the nasal Naloxone rollout and formal employee recognition program.
Supt. Baher worked to make carrying nasal Naloxone a reality.
In the fall of 2016, RCMP started carrying Naloxone for two reasons, officer safety, if one might be inadvertently exposed to Fentanyl or an analog and to save the life of any person who was suffering an opiate overdose.
There have only been a few instances of Naloxone being administered to RCMP employees and officers. However, from October 2016 until the end of March 2021, the RCMP has administered nasal Naloxone more than 1,000 times across Canada to individuals suffering an apparent or suspected overdose.
In the BC RCMP’s Southeast District, upwards of 271 doses of nasal Naloxone have been administered by officers during the course of their duties, in 195 of those over 1,000 events since October 2016.
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