LONDON, ONT. -- In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fanshawe College is putting new resources into Canada’s ongoing epidemic: opioids.
Effectively immediately, special constables - part of the security agency that patrols Fanshawe’s campus - will carry naloxone kits.
In total, 11 special constables will have two micro naloxone kits as part of the tools they carry.
The kits are used to counter the effects of an opioid overdose.
While Fanshawe College’s educational campus has not seen a need for the kits to date, the school also includes multiple residences and townhomes where students reside.
Patrol supervisor and special constable, Mike Mahoney, tells CTV News, “I’ve come across situations, looking back at them, where if we had it (naloxone) then, we might have administered it."
Mahoney points out that Fanshawe sees multiple visitors each day, a small portion of whom are not students.
“We have a lot of people coming through campus here, whether it be employees, students, members of the public taking the London transit bus, and just anyone who passes through campus and might live in the area. We want to make sure were equipped to assist anyone who might be in need."
The head of Fanshawe College’s security services team, Ed Pimetel, acknowledges the naloxone project is expensive, and took some time to get operating.
However, he says if it helps one person, it will be worthwhile.
“You can’t put a price on safety."
