A recently established drug program to prevent overdoses in schools and other local issues were discussed at the first Fountain Valley mayor’s breakfast of the year, held March 30 at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital in Orange County, California.
The school program was first initiated last November, in which city services placed drug stations at schools to reverse overdoses in youth. The stations carry naloxone, a nasal spray that can reverse the deadly effects of opioids.
“It’s horrible that we have to do this. My hope is that we don’t have a need for [naloxone stations] at schools in the very near future,” Fountain Valley Fire Department Chief Bill McQuaid told The Epoch Times after the breakfast.
The program has already saved one Ocean High School student’s life this past January who had taken an unknown substance bought off the street that was laced with fentanyl, according to McQuaid. City officials said after the mayor’s breakfast that her timely treatment with Narcan, a brand of naloxone medication, by a teacher is what saved her life.
Lauren Lee, a former emergency room nurse who developed the plan for the school stations and currently serves as the Emergency Medical Services manager for the city fire department, says the stations are vital to student safety in light of the opioid crisis. According to Lee, a growing number of kids elementary age and up are buying illicit drugs from dealers on social media sites, most often through Snapchat.
“These kids will think they’re just buying marijuana gummies when really they’re packed with fentanyl,” Lee told The Epoch Times following the meeting.
Other city programs announced during the meeting include a new handicap-friendly playground set to break ground soon. According to project leaders, the park will open by the end of this year.
Approved by the Fountain Valley City Council in late January, the play area is expected to cost just over $1.7 million, according to city staff, though additional funding is expected to come in the form of community donations. The park will be centrally located at the city’s Sports Park.
Mayor Kim Constantine also announced during the meeting that the city’s general fund experienced a surplus of over $20 million this fiscal year.
In addition, two new Dutch Brothers coffee shops are set to open in the city sometime this year.
