FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 31, 2022

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office are pleased to announce the first successful contact of DHEC’s new Community Opioid Paramedic Education (COPE) program.

Begun at DHEC in 2019, seven counties currently participate in the program, which is a post-overdose outreach program in which people who experienced an opioid overdose and were treated with Narcan® are provided access to substance use treatment. The program uses referrals from EMS, law enforcement or hospitals to identify survivors for follow-up visits during a critical window for successful intervention to help treat substance use disorder and reduce harmful health outcomes for survivors, their family members and communities.

Typically, within 72 hours of a person’s overdose, a COPE team – which consists of a paramedic; law enforcement officer; and peer-support specialist, mental health counselor or social worker – will visit a survivor at their residence for a wellness check and provide educational drug treatment materials and resources.

Edgefield County Sheriff Jody Rowland was an eager partner for DHEC’s COPE program and began helping the agency make connections in Edgefield County. That effort led to a candidate being selected by Garrett Lynn, EMS director for Edgefield County. 

The overdose survivor, who previously had a significant period of sobriety, was visited by DHEC COPE Provider Richard Naugler, along with members of the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Department and EMS, and was given wellness tools and harm reduction information and offered a variety of treatment services.

“This is the only state-led initiative of its kind,” said Kenny Polson, DHEC COPE Program Coordinator. “We still have a long road ahead, but we are working hard to be able to provide the best possible options for treatment and forge partnerships with law enforcement and EMS across the state.”

Polson also said the agency is planning to hire two additional part-time personnel to be able to reach all corners of the state.

For first responders such as Sheriff Rowland, a program like COPE provides crucial hope after an overdose contact that can be particularly stressful for responders.

“With increasing numbers of drug overdose calls in Edgefield County and statewide, the traditional first response and use of Narcan® for an overdose is simply not enough,” Rowland said. “Over the last two years, I have witnessed multiple deaths due to repeated overdoses.”  

“Until the COPE program, no coordinated paramedic effort to connect overdose survivors to services and resources existed. When EMS Director Garrett Lynn introduced me to Richard Naugler and the COPE program, the Sheriff’s Office immediately joined the effort. We will work together to bring timely support to reach those citizens in our community that there is a path to recovery following an overdose.”

Any EMS agency in South Carolina is eligible for the COPE program. To learn more about the program or to enroll, contact [provide number and/or website]. Current EMS partners include Bowers EMS in Pickens County, Greenville County EMS, Lancaster County EMS, Lexington County EMS, Fairfield County EMS, Clarendon Fire & Rescue, and the Myrtle Beach Fire Department. 

For more information about Narcan resources and instructional material, visit scdhec.gov/opioid-epidemic. Click here for an instructional video from COPE about the proper administration of Narcan during an overdose.

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