SFU reinforces measures to prevent overdose incidents on campus

In July, the Post-Secondary Overdose Prevention and Response Steering Committee of British Columbia outlined early actions for universities and colleges to adopt by this fall. These measures aim to help students stay safe and reduce the risk and harms related to toxic-drug poisonings on campuses. 

Many of these recommendations have long been practiced at SFU. We interviewed Andrea Ringrose, Senior Director of Campus Public Safety (CPS), who is a member of the provincial Steering Committee’s Naloxone Strategy Working Group, to get more information about the proactive and reactive strategies in place at SFU, as well as additional work underway. 

1) Enhancing consistent access to naloxone 

By this September, the province will provide all B.C. universities and colleges with easy-to-use nasal-spray naloxone – a medication that can reverse the effects of an overdose from opioids. 

As a result of the Ministry Steering Committee Working Groups, dedicated cabinets stocked with nasal naloxone doses with instructions will be installed on B.C. post-secondary campuses. At SFU, these new lifesaving cabinets will be found within Residence & Housing, and other strategic internal locations throughout our campuses. Many will be co-located with known AED locations or mounted in vicinity of emergency phone locations to support ability to call 911 and CPS. A map of the naloxone cabinet locations will be communicated to the SFU community when this project is completed.

Nasal naloxone was first included in SFU’s CPS first aid kits in 2017. As the opioid crisis worsened in 2019, CPS began issuing naloxone carry pouches to all CPS members. By 2021, CPS expanded its harm reduction and overdose prevention efforts by adding naloxone training to their basic first aid courses for students, faculty, and staff, along with essential cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training for overdose response.

“These interventions and measures have saved multiple lives in recent years across our campuses. We are grateful for the innovative support from the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills’ to ensure expanded access to nasal naloxone at SFU,” shares Ringrose.

This August, CPS staff are taking refresher training on toxic-drug poisoning response, which is supported by Fraser Health’s Toxic Drug Response and Priority Populations Team.

2) Contacting emergency services first

In life-threatening situations, SFU advises all university community members and campus visitors to call 9-1-1 right away and then contact Campus Public Safety at 778-782-4500. This ensures that on-campus responders can quickly begin lifesaving actions while other CPS units guide emergency services to the precise location of the incident.

3) Offering supports and expanding overdose prevention awareness

Support with empathy, care, and compassion is a key component of SFU’s approach to safety.

All CPS staff have mandatory Occupational First Aid 1,2, or 3 training, Mental Health First Aid Canada, and SafeTalk suicide intervention, prevention and response certifications. The university offers community workshops on many of these critical topics, health and counselling and support services through employee and student offices. Residence and Housing community-based partners ensure appropriate supports are available to those who live on campus as well.        

“The provincial steering committee’s recommendations will bolster knowledge mobilization related to toxic drugs and overdose prevention, and ensure a greater number of our faculty, staff, students, and other campus users in B.C.  have access to these critical supplies and training to help save lives,” Ringrose concludes.  

Related Links:

• SFU Safety and Risk Services to add Naloxone training to community first aid programming