Overdose Aid Kits Installed in Oshkosh Schools

OSHKOSH, WI- (WISS) – Community leaders from Oshkosh, Winnebago County, and the state came out to Vel Phillips Elementary School in Oshkosh for a demonstration of the new Overdose Aid Kits or O.A.Ks that are now in every middle and high school in the Oshkosh Area School District (OASD). 

The Overdose Aid Kits contain naloxone nasal spray, commonly known as NARCAN®; CPR breathing barriers; drug administration instructions; fentanyl testing strips; and information about treatment and recovery support.  Naloxone works in minutes to reverse the effects of opioid overdose and does not affect someone if opioids are not present in their system.

Matt Kaemmerer, OASD Director of Pupil Services, said experts trained teachers and staff on how to administer naloxone. He said next the district will make the students aware of the boxes and how to use them.

Kaemmerer said that Oshkosh Schools have never had an overdose in the schools. But the OAKs will help them be prepared if the worst-case scenario ever does happen. 

“ I think the rise of fentanyl has really changed the game for everybody in our community, in our schools, in that it can literally be in anything now. Whether it be a pill, a gummy, a vape – There are instances where a student may take something that they think is one thing, and it turns out to be something that could potentially end their life. So we want to be prepared for every situation,” Kaemmerer said.

He added that illicit and legal drugs have changed dramatically in the past decade or so.

“This wasn’t in response to a rise in drug use among our students. I think that’s a common misconception,” Kaemmerer said. “We’ve actually seen drug use among our students go down over the past decade. But this is more in response to drugs being so much different than they were a decade ago. And far more deadly than they were.”

Overdose Aid Kits

The district partnered with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Overdose Response Network and Start Healing Now to install the OAKs.

CGI’s Overdose Response Network has installed over 3,500 kits nationwide, including over 900 across Wisconsin. However, Jessica Geschke, Senior Project Manager of the Clinton Foundation, said the 18 OAKs in the OASD are extraordinary.

“This is the largest OAK installation that our team has ever done in any school district across the country,” Geschke said. “I’m going to say that again. The largest installation of any OAK box donation.”

The naloxone and other supplies in the Overdose Aid Kits are free to anyone needing them. They can be taken for emergencies use or as a preventive measure. This approach aligns with national efforts to expand access to life-saving resources in schools and community spaces.