MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The Department of Health and Environmental Control says the Myrtle Beach Police Department saved lives from overdoses using Narcan.
According to DHEC, the Myrtle Beach Police Department administered Narcan 21 times in 2018, and eight times in 2017.
Often times Myrtle Beach Police are the first to arrive on scene, and officers say having access to Narcan helps them save more lives.
“We as officers, we all have it. Without that, you could have all that stuff going but without it we wouldn’t even have a shot at actual saves,” Kenneth Harlow, Patrol First Class with MBPD said.
DHEC’s Law Enforcement Officer Naloxone, or LEON Program uses a federal grant to buy Narcan for several law enforcement agencies in the state, including Myrtle Beach Police.
For fiscal year 2019, the LEON Program received $374,394. The program is currently in year three of a five-year grant.
A single dose of generic naloxone can cost between $20 to $40, but for Officer Harlow, it is worth it to save a life.
“That’s some body’s daughter, mother, sister, brother, father, whoever it is, that I have something to help them bring them back to life, maybe it’ll be the chance that they’ll turn, I don’t know. I’m not the man upstairs; I don’t make that decision. My job is to save lives. That’s what I signed up for and that’s what I’ll continue to do,” Harlow said.
The amount of overdoses in the area could be a sign of a bigger problem in Myrtle Beach, which is why the city and Horry County have recently hired a professor to study the local opioid epidemic.
Until then, Myrtle Beach police officers will continue to administer Narcan when needed.
“We can’t police our way out of it. We can arrest them all day long, but ultimately people are gonna have to make the decision,” Harlow said.
