HUTTO – As the fentanyl crisis explodes into a nationwide panic and more people are killed by fentanyl than any other cause, teens are among the fastest growing victims according to the CDC. Nearby Hays County experienced a tragedy of four student deaths and more students hospitalized this summer, suspected victims of fentanyl-laced pills. While school districts scramble to protect students and reassure parents, Hutto ISD has taken an innovative approach – community-wide collaboration.
“I’m a firm believer that it takes a village.
It really just does,” said Kendra Estes, Hutto ISD director of health services regarding the district’s multi-level approach to protecting students from fentanyl overdose, announced Sept 9. Despite its recent launch, the initiative began almost two years ago through the efforts of Julie Steed, a licensed mental health professional with HISD.
Steed, a licensed professional counselor and licensed chemical dependency counselor, previously worked for the State of Texas on a task force targeting opioid use and reducing opioid deaths. When she began work for HISD, she spoke with Estes about NARCAN and its ability to reverse overdoses on Hutto campuses. Estes and the School Health Advisory Council took a recommendation to the school board to have NARCAN available at schools in 2020, and in 2021 Williamson County EMS gave HISD 48 NARCAN kits at no charge. “This year, when we did our NARCAN training, we wanted to get additional kits for our campus safety officers, our nurses, counselors and police department,” said Estes. “Williamson County EMS connected us with Bluebonnet Trails, and they gave us over 200 doses. Those were distributed to the departments that were trained. We’re really happy to have it.”
The ability to save lives using NARCAN is one element of the district’s fentanyl response. Another piece is education. After the tragedy that struck Hays CISD, that district created a video series to educate students about fentanyl. Hays CISD has shared the videos, and Hutto ISD has made the initial video available to local parents along with an informational flier and email. Unlike in Hays County schools, Hutto ISD has no current plans to play the video in classrooms.
“We made the Hays video available to our parents and asked them to have the conversation with their kids. We want to start at home so that they can meet the specific needs of their family in the way they see fit. We’re trying to empower the parents with education,” Estes said.
The fentanyl crisis is unusual in that the victims are frequently not what the public thinks of as stereotypical drug users. Many of those affected have been teenagers trying to self-medicate pain, calm anxiety or improve their focus with drugs they were previously prescribed, including Percocet, Xanax or Adderall. The vast majority of these pills have been found to contain fentanyl when purchased from someplace other than a licensed pharmacy, according to the DEA, and up to 40% of those have a deadly dose.
“We don’t want students to get to the point where they’re seeking out drugs or alternative means to control stress, depression or pain,” said Estes. “Our mental health professionals are trained to identify students that may be vulnerable, and we try to put them with resources they need so they have tools in their tool belts.”
One such tool is known as “prehab”.
When students and student-athletes need surgery, they can be especially vulnerable to paid medication addiction. Prehab is a way to condition a patient before surgery in order to minimize the potential for pain medication abuse.
“Parents need to ask questions about prehab before any surgery so there’s less chance to get hooked. It starts with the doctor and care team. Afterwards it takes the teachers and counselors to be there and get the student into other therapies for pain if needed,” Estes said. An anonymous student and parent tip line and intensive staff training round out the district’s resources for fighting the fentanyl crisis on its campuses.
Medical professionals, the Hutto Police Department, parents, students, teachers and counselors – Hutto ISD has enlisted everyone in their quest to keep students safe.
“It’s a collaboration.
It’s not all them, it’s not all us. We’re just all trying to do everything we can,” Estes said.
