PSTA Becomes Florida's First Transit Agency to Install Narcan Kits in Fight Against Opioid Overdoses

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority has installed Narcan kits (left), which reverse opioid overdoses, at its four terminals and administrative office. Photos provided. In March, the White House issued a national call to action for community stakeholders to help mitigate opioid overdoses. The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority has answered. PSTA recently became the state’s first transit agency to offer Narcan kits and associated employee training.

The naloxone nasal spray reverses opioid overdoses by restoring breathing and consciousness within minutes. More than one person in Pinellas County died every 14 hours from an opioid-related overdose in 2022, one of the highest rates in the state. Eddie Kester, safety, security and training supervisor for PSTA, said the agency is “pretty proud” of the new initiative. “Being innovative and engaging with our community in creative ways is like a mark of pride here,” Kester said. “We also lean into the human element of what we do.

” The opioid epidemic shows no signs of abating. In ’22, over 600 people in Pinellas died from overdoses, a trend health officials expect to persist. The St. Petersburg Police Department recently seized enough fentanyl to kill millions of people in what Chief Anthony Holloway called the city’s “largest drug bust in the last 20 years. ” Just two milligrams of the synthetic opioid – 10 to 15 table salt-sized grains – is enough to kill someone.

Kester said PSTA is well aware of the problem through its work with local law enforcement and time spent in the community. “We just know,” he said. “So, when I got the clearance to start looking for a solution and dialing in on what we can do to help, it went from there. ” Kester called the health department, who put him in touch with Dan Zsido, a retired Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant. Zsido, who spent most of his 40-year career in narcotics, is training hundreds of PSTA employees on how to use the Narcan kits.

The Clearwater-based Recovery Epicenter Foundation and health department provide the medication at no cost. Kester said PSTA installed the kits Aug. 29, two days before International Overdose Awareness Day. PSTA’s four terminals – two in St.