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Date: 9/30/2020
GREATER SPRINGFIELD – For quite some time, Tapestry health has provided training for agencies, organizations and community members about how to use the life-saving drug, Narcan. Now, they’re continuing to educate people via virtual forums about the drug, which is used by agencies and individuals across the Commonwealth to treat opioid overdoses
Illaria Dana, who serves as the manager of Tapestry’s Harm Reduction Program in Greenfield, said Tapestry transitioned to virtual training after the pandemic first appeared in Western Massachusetts in March. She said the transition from in-person training to virtual ones was different, but not that difficult.
She said there “weren’t really any hiccups,” when the switch was made to virtual training. Dana said, in her opinion, virtual sessions weren’t that difficult to moderate. “I think that if you really know the material and if you have experience with facilitating groups, the switch to online isn’t as daunting,” she said. “As a facilitator, you have to be prepared to do a lot of the talking.”
Dana said the most significant difference between virtual and in-person seminars was how conversation between participants flowed during the presentation. “When I was doing the Narcan training in person, I would never use a PowerPoint, I would have it be a lot more conversational,” she said. “Being in a room with people, people are more likely to share experiences and build upon their knowledge they’re bringing to the space.”
She said while the presentation was slightly different, there was an upside to hosting Narcan training online rather than in person. “One of the cool differences is people can come across the country and get this education,” she said. Dana added that the online resource was a good “incentive for people to tap into resources” such as the training.
Additionally, she said being able to advertise the training online has helped to reach more people. “I think being able to do it online and being able to advertise online increased [the] audience,” she said. “Especially because since we’re based in Greenfield and Franklin County, [there’s a] bigger audience than other trainings.”
Dana said the August training had an attendance of 60 to 70 people. However, the Zoom room, she said, can accommodate up to 100 people. She said while the virtual format hasn’t necessarily increased attendance, it has increased accessibility as people are able to attend the training from the comfort of their own home.
While Tapestry is hosting the group training virtually, Dana said if a company had a conference room big enough to abide by CDC guidelines for socially distancing, Tapestry could moderate an in-person training. Additionally, if an individual couldn’t access the online training, they would be able to assist them in-person while practicing social distancing.
Dana said the one challenge with hosting virtual training sessions was that they were not able to distribute Narcan to participants at the end of the presentation. Traditionally, Tapestry presenters take Narcan to the presentation and distribute to participants at the end. However, she said that prior to the pandemic Tapestry was utilizing a van for their mobile outreach program, that they can now use to distribute and deliver Narcan to those who request it. “We can deliver Narcan if needed,” she said.
Dana said with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it was more important than ever to know how to use Narcan. She explained that the coronavirus was a respiratory illness, and “overdoses have to do with respiratory failure.”
“Having it and knowing how to use it is one of the easiest ways to protect other community members. It’s easy to use and helps keep community members safe,” she said. “This is an especially important time to learn how to prevent overdoses.”
Additional online training will be held via Zoom on the following dates:
• Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.
• Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.
• Dec. 17 at 10 a.m.
Anyone wanting to register for any of the online Narcan training should email the Opioid Task Force at maileopioidtaskforce.org. To request Narcan via Tapestry’s mobile outreach program, people should call or text 221-7722. Tapestry Health is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. Dana said Tapestry is “here for anyone who has any questions at any time, or just want to chat.”
Additional information about Tapestry can be found online at https://www.tapestryhealth.org.