O.A.K. box installations offer hope in moments of opioid tragedy
In an attempt to save lives, O.A.K boxes, or opioid aid kits, have been installed throughout West and the rest of the school district, open for student use and interaction. The board adopted these boxes in order to combat overdoses and bring light to the opioid crisis that continues to sweep the nation. Director of Pupil Services for the OASD Matt Kaemmerer played a large role in pushing for the addition of this resource to district schools.
“I sit on the Winnebago County Overdose Fatality Review Committee,” he said. “Every month we review the life of someone who died due to an overdose and look for touch points where, if intervention would have been applied at a certain point, it would have changed the trajectory of their life in some way. Some of the cases we review are ex-Oshkosh Area School District students, or parents or relatives of current Oshkosh Area School District students. This is something that touches our school community whether people know it or not, and we want to be as prepared as possible.”
Kaemmerer appreciates which organizations made the donation of these boxes possible.
“The O.A.K. kits were actually donated through the Clinton Foundation,” he said. “We have also partnered with the Winnebago County Health Department. We’ve had another number of partners, but the O.A.K. kits themselves were donated by the Clinton Foundation.”
Kaemmerer said that O.A.K. boxes are being implemented as a response to the rise in potent drugs more so than an increase in user numbers in the district.
“We’re not installing O.A.K. boxes because there’s been an increase in drug use among our student population, because that’s not the case,” he said. “But the drug scene has changed in the lethality of drugs, due to fentanyl. Even though fewer students may be using drugs, overdoses nationwide have been increasing.”
These O.A.K boxes made their debut within West at the beginning of the second semester. Principal Becky Montour helped strategically place them in four spots in the building.
“We have four O.A.K. boxes in the building that just went up,” she said. “There is one in the O-Room, one in the F-Room, one by Door 38, and one near the intersection of the A-Wing and the E-Wing.”
These overdose kits have also been placed in each middle school and high school within the district, per Kaemmerer’s initiative.
“The O.A.K boxes themselves are only going to be at our middle schools and high schools,” she said. “However, we do have doses of Narcan in every one of our schools, understanding that even at the elementary level, there’s a possibility that parents or visitors could come into our school and experience an overdose.”
Each box contains supplies accessible to any passerby, allowing O.A.K. boxes to stand out among other overdose dispensers which are typically less user-friendly.
“They contain fentanyl test strips, Narcan, and educational information about opioid overdoses for students,” Montour said. “The thing about O.A.K. boxes that is different from other Narcan dispensers is that they are accessible to students. Students are allowed to open the boxes and take Narcan home with them if they are, for instance, worried about a family member who might overdose.”
Kaemmerer is informed on how to use this Narcan to help one experiencing an overdose.
“It’s administered through the nasal passage,” he said. “Hold it up into someone’s nose so the two fingers around the applicator just barely touch the nose of the individual. When you push up on the bottom of the bottle, the mist goes into the nose once it is determined or suspected that they are overdosing. Even if it turns out that it wasn't an overdose, you’re not going to hurt the person by giving them a dose of Narcan.”
Staff at Oshkosh schools have undergone collective training on how to administer Narcan in an emergency. Kaemmerer noted the process and feedback he received.
“Staff received a 45-minute training session that was not only exclusive to Narcan administration, but also included some education about the opioid epidemic and how that’s really a nationwide crisis,” he stated. “I think it was eye-opening for a lot of our staff and the feedback we received was very positive, in terms of being something that was useful for them.”
In addition, students and parents will receive more information about these new safety measures. Montour is taking steps to educate families on all organizations individuals can visit for more information on overdoses and the opioid crisis.
“Parents will be receiving a letter at 2 p.m. on January 21, and we will be doing a schoolwide homeroom lesson coming up about these boxes,” she said. “Also, Song for Charlie is a nonprofit organization that has a ton of informative videos and links about this. It’s definitely a valuable resource to tap into.”
In order to keep resisting the presence of fentanyl and other opioids among young people, Kaemmerer illuminates the role of raising awareness and educating peers.
“Educating one another, particularly on the rise in fentanyl and how it can be in anything, is important,” he said. “Making sure people aren't just buying pills online or getting pills from people that they don't know, that aren't prescribed to them. I mean, I think that's probably the most dangerous thing someone can do, taking a pill from an unknown resource.”
Kaemmerer strongly believes that advocating for an increased presence of and easier access to Narcan in the community will effectively hinder overdose numbers and pave the way to a safer and more sober future for the Oshkosh community.
“Supporting the push for Narcan availability in the community and making it something that more and more people understand is really important,” he said. “In 2023, for our county, we had 47 overdose deaths. 28 of those were in the city of Oshkosh, so it’s 28 lives that could have been potentially saved if someone present had had Narcan and knew how to administer it.”
by Aria Boehler and Phoebe Fletcher
Published February 3 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue IV