Horry County Fire Rescue hiring two new specialists aiming to curb opioid epidemic

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - Horry County Fire Rescue is adding two new members to its team to try and help curb the opioid epidemic in our community.

The department is hiring two Harm Reduction Specialists in hopes of cracking down on overdose-related calls.

The two new specialists will follow up with patients who have suffered an overdose and were administered Narcan.

The specialists will work closely with different recovery organizations in the community to try and get patients the help they need.

HCFR spokesperson Tony Casey said fentanyl is currently hitting our community the hardest, and the two new specialists are a move to help try and save more lives.

“This upward trend of overdose-related calls means we need to do something about it,” Casey said. “That’s what we’re doing with these two positions, so we’re really looking forward to getting them hired and out there in Horry County.”

Casey said they’re already seeing an increase this year in how many times they’ve used Narcan compared to this time last year.

He said it will not only take the two new specialists but help from the community to try and curb the rising issue.

“The numbers are high here in Horry County, and what we wanna do is turn that around,” Casey said. “So, this is one holistic way to maybe do that and it’s gonna take a village. It’s linking people up with resources they need to hopefully help them turn their life around.”

Click here to apply for the position.

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