Harckham, Pierce Host Naloxone Training in Mount Kisco

Mount Kisco, NY – New York State Senator Pete Harckham, in partnership with Westchester County Legislator Erika Pierce, hosted a naloxone training on Wednesday, Jan. 29, giving 25 people, including first responders and interested residents, an opportunity to learn how to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

“In order for someone to enter recovery, first and foremost, they must be alive,” said Harckham. “A person equipped with naloxone and the training to use it properly can literally give someone a new lease on life and the opportunity to enter recovery.”

The training, which was held in the Mount Kisco Public Library, was the twelfth training Harckham has held since 2020. Now in his second term as the chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, Harckham previously served for four years as chair of the Senate Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Committee.

Mandee Nann, an opioid overdose outreach training specialist with the state’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) based in Albany, led the two-hour training session, which focused on both the administration of naloxone, a powerful opioid antagonist best known as Narcan, and instruction in rescue breathing. 

“Almost everyone has known someone who has died from an overdose, but we are not helpless in the face of this plague affecting our communities,” said Pierce, “I encourage everyone who can to learn how to administer naloxone and keep some handy. You never know whose life you could save.”

Provisional data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that around 89,740 people died from a drug overdose between August of 2023 and August 2024, mostly from opioids. That represents a 21.7% decrease compared to the previous year. 

This decline in overdoses is partially attributable to improved education efforts by schools, police officers and government agencies, plus increased access to harm-reduction treatment such as naloxone.

The naloxone training participants learned how to administer naloxone as a pre-packaged, FDA-approved nasal spray. More first responders are being trained to use naloxone, and families with members with an opioid use disorder should have the opioid antagonist nearby. People should still call 911 in the event of an overdose. 

Participants at the Mount Kisco training received an emergency kit with two doses of naloxone.

Community organizations interested in hosting a naloxone training please contact Senator Harckham’s Office at (914) 241-4600.