Office of Medical Communications

Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, is a pediatric critical care physician at UVM Children’s Hospital and president of the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

(JANUARY 31, 2024) Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, a pediatric critical care physician at UVM Children’s Hospital, and president of the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, spoke to Vermont Public for a story about the Vermont Department of Health’s goal to provide every K–12 school in the state with free naloxone (the overdose-reversal drug best known by the brand name Narcan), as well as virtual trainings.

While the focus may be on teens, younger kids can and do come across opioids too, according to Bell, who said she’s seeing cases where young children accidentally ingest an opioid at home and become symptomatic later at school.

“Because they’re young, it may not be on the top of people’s minds that this could be opiate-related,” she said.

Narcan, a nasal spray, doesn’t require medical training to administer. It’s also safe to use—even if the person who receives the medication wasn’t actually suffering from an overdose. And that’s the message Bell wants to drive home with this initiative: when in doubt, go ahead and use Narcan while you wait for an ambulance. It can’t hurt, and it might save that child’s life.

“I want families and the public and school officials to know that you can use Narcan on anybody,” Bell said. “Any age, any size, any time, any place—for any concern.”