PORT ANGELES — Staff at the Clallam County Corrections Facility saved the lives of three inmates after fentanyl overdoses, according to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Corrections staffers were notified of an emergency in one of the female dorm tanks on June 12 after an inmate pressed a newly-installed emergency panic alarm, according to the sheriff’s office.
Control room technician Brandon Janisse was alerted that there was an unconscious and unresponsive woman and corrections deputies and the jail nurse found a 21-year-old woman lying on the floor with a 37-year-old cellmate kneeling over her trying to assist; the 37-year-old soon after collapsed and also became unresponsive.
The nurse and deputies began administering Narcan — a nasal spray prescription medication used for the treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose emergency — to the two unresponsive females, sheriff’s office representatives said.
During the response, Deputy Nate Pence noticed a third woman inmate had returned to her bunk and began to display similar signs of an opioid overdose.
She soon became non-responsive and was administered Narcan by Sgt. Jeremy Morgan, which reversed the effects.
After multiple doses of Narcan, nurse Brandy Adams was not able to detect a pulse on either of the first two inmates.
Pence, fellow deputy Katie Arand and Adams initiated chest compressions on the two inmates; within two minutes, both inmates regained consciousness, sheriff’s office representatives said.
All three inmates were transported to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles for treatment and returned to the Clallam County Corrections Facility later the same day.
Detectives from the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET) began to conduct an investigation into how fentanyl entered the facility.
The sheriff’s office lauded Adams, Arand, Morgan, Pence, Janisse and deputy Devin Dahl for their efforts.
“Having three inmates overdose simultaneously required the entire corrections staff to respond, utilizing their skill and training to save these inmates,” Clallam County Sheriff’s Office representatives said in a press release.
“It is a testament to the training and compassion practiced daily by our Corrections Staff that each of these inmates will have the opportunity to choose a better path in life.”
