For years, a Taylor native has trained people for CPR emergencies. Today, in the wake of the FDA’s approval of opioid reversal drug Naloxone as an over-the-counter medication, he is taking his training a step further to fight the fentanyl crisis as well.
“I figured the 40-year anniversary of Taylor Heartsaver would be a good time to go back to the citizens and restart new programs to train the public,” said former City Councilman Tim Mikeska, the CEO of Mikeska Brands Texas Bar-B-Q and Mustang Creek Golf Course. “So, Taylor Heartsaver.org began last year, and that is my goal, that is what I will do the rest of my days here in my hometown, is to train people to save lives.”
In 1982, Mikeska, then a field paramedic for Williamson County, certified instructor and examiner for Texas Department of Health, started Texas Heartsaver to equip everyday community members with free training in CPR and basic first aid for adults, children and infants.
“In that first year, I trained around 300 of our citizens here in Taylor for free as a way to get the knowledge out about what CPR can do, and those civilians went on to have about 15 rescues,” Mikeska said. “That was a proud moment for me.”
These days, Mikeska, who was recently recertified as a Basic Life Support Instructor by the American Heart Association, has restarted the organization — not only to train area residents in basic CPR and First Aid, but also in the use of Naloxone, which was approved last week by the FDA as an over-the-counter medication to counteract fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is the leading cause of accidental overdoserelated deaths in the United States.
Mikeska said he has been waiting for this moment for a long time.
“I wrote plenty of letters to my congressmen and senators beginning 11 months ago, and to the FDA to please make Naloxone available to anyone without a prescription,” Mikeska said.
“And when I got that message today, I was flying, and I got called from my office, and that was one of the best bits of news I have ever had.”
Mikeska said he is motivated to bring awareness of Naloxone to the community in part due to the tragic stories from area mothers whose children lost their lives to fentanyl, including Hunter Crump, who reportedly died two weeks after graduating from Taylor High School last year after taking counterfeit prescription medication laced with the synthetic opioid.
“It can happen to anybody,” Mikeska said. “These are good kids ... So, my goal is not to tell the stories of these families. I want to train people how to recognize it (opioid overdose), how to obtain Naloxone and how to administer it.”
As in years past, this training will be free, Mikeska said.
“This is kind of my way of giving my hometown my thanks,” Mikeska said. “I have been caring for these people all my life, and this is how I want to go out. I am old now, and as long as the good Lord lets me keep teaching, I want to keep teaching.”
For more information, go to https://taylorheartsaver.org/
