Florida Transit Agency Expanding Narcan Access to Combat Opioid Overdoses

In an effort to combat opioid overdoses, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) in Florida has installed new Narcan kits at its bus terminals and trained its employees on how to properly use the nasal spray to reverse overdoses. PSTA is the first transit agency in Florida to offer such a training program and has also placed a Narcan kit at its headquarters. The initiative comes in response to the increasing number of deaths due to accidental opioid overdoses in Pinellas County since 2018.

The Narcan kits were strategically placed in locations accessible only to PSTA staff ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31. Dan Zsido, a retired lieutenant with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, is leading the training efforts, emphasizing the life-saving potential of Narcan in reversing overdoses caused by various drugs like heroin, prescription medications, and fentanyl. PSTA aims to raise awareness among passengers about the availability of these resources during emergencies and hopes to eventually equip all buses with Narcan kits to save more lives.