The CTWSI has published an Invitation for Bids for a Building Expansion & Remodeling project in Milbank, SD.
Please click here to view the full IFB and click here to view the Addendum to the IFB
Good News Story: Transit driver puts life-saving training to use
by Terry Hoffman
CTWSI Co-Executive Director
Transportation professionals receive an abundance of training in attempts to provide
passengers with the ultimate travel experience.
Training often includes the securing of riders and their mobility devices, drug and alcohol
related awareness, defensive driving, how to deal with difficult passengers and more. The
information received in those training sessions are often employed daily. Some are not so
frequent.
Waylon Brown, bus driver for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Transit, recently utilized a
training he had received into action. Brown’s actions resulted in the saving of a neighbor’s life.
Brown had received Narcan training on September 29, 2023 at the Sisseton office of
Community Transit of Watertown/Sisseton, Inc. The session taught employees how to
administer the Narcan spray to individuals who may be overdosing on opioids. Each participant
was issued two cans of the spray.
On the night of November 11, 2023, Brown was relaxing at home when he received a call from
neighbors indicating a boy may have overdosed and if he still had Narcan spray.
“I went over to their house and the young man wasn’t breathing,” said Brown. “I used the
training I had gotten from Josie Duetsch’s program. I had to use two doses on him, but he
started breathing and the ambulance got there soon after. The training saved his life.”
Josie Reints, CNP for Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate on the Lake Traverse Reservation. has worked
in the Tribal Opioid Response Project. Most recently, she is establishing a Medication for
Addiction Treatment Clinic under the Asniyapi Field Health Clinic.
Naloxone (brand name Narcan) is a medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose in
an emergency. It is an opioid antagonist and can reverse and block the effects of other opioids.
It can very quickly restore normal respiration to a person whose breathing has slowed or
stopped because of overdosing with heroin or prescription opioid pain medications.
“Naloxone can be administered by anyone, not just health care workers and it comes in an
easy-to-use nasal spray,” said Reints.” Everyone should have Narcan on hand, you never know
when you might encounter someone in need of this life-saving medication.
Narcan training can quickly reverse an overdose by blocking the effects of opioids. Opioids
include prescription medications for pain, heroin, and fentanyl.
Local pharmacists can provide information on how to obtain the spray.
“We are all very proud of Waylon and for his actions in saving a life,” said Kathy Holman, Co-
Executive Director of CTWSI. (The SWO Tribal Transit is managed by CTWSI). “The training we
received could not have come at a better time. Thank God Waylon was there to administer the
Narcan.”
Armed with a Tribal Opioid Response Grant from Reints and her organization will continue to
address the overdose crisis in Tribal communities by increasing access to FDA-approved
medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder as well as supporting the continuum
of prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support services for opioid use
disorder and other substance use disorders, including cocaine and methamphetamine.
“Last fiscal year we trained 224 workforce members on how to use Narcan kits to reverse an
opioid overdose,” said Reints. “We hold monthly classes and are committed to training
individuals or large groups,” said Reints.
Those numbers Included 54 first responders, 109 community members and 86 substances use
disorder treatment clients.
“We plan to bring this training to all employees at our company-wide meeting next summer,”
said Holman.
Medical Rides for Veterans
There are multiple programs available to assist our veterans in providing free transportation to your VA medical appointments.
River Cities Public Transit in Pierre has a brochure for more information for highly rural areas – click here.
For transportation in Codington County, veterans also qualify for free round trip transportation to V.A. Medical appointments anywhere in the state through the Rides to Wellness program with curb to curb service and available wheelchair accessible vehicles – call our office today to learn more or to schedule a ride.
Team Mate Wanted
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