What you need to know
Town officials added naloxone doses to 12 automatic external defibrillators, or AED, units in public, air-conditioned spaces, Flower Mound Communications Director Melissa Demmitt said. The spaces that received naloxone doses are:
- Central Fire Station
- Town Hall
- Flower Mound Public Library
- Senior Center
- Flower Mound Police Department lobby, physical training room and jail
- Flower Mound municipal court
- Public Works building
- Fleet Services building
- Animal Services
- Community Activity Center
The task force chose these locations because they are both publicly accessible and climate-controlled, Demmitt said. Naloxone manufacturer Emergent Biosolutions recommends avoiding temperature extremes when storing the drug, according to their website.
An opioid antagonist, Naloxone temporarily reverses the effects of opioids such as heroin, Vicodin and fentanyl, and can relieve overdose symptoms, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Some background
Town Manager James Childers initially proposed the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Task Force after the town received funds from the statewide opioid settlement in 2024. Since 2023, Flower Mound has received roughly $144,000, according to the Texas Comptroller’s website.
The town has not spent any of the opioid settlement funds, Demmitt said, and the task force’s goal is to determine how to best spend the money. The task force is made up of representatives from Argyle and Lewisville ISDs, North Central Texas College, Valley Creek Church and drug abuse prevention and recovery group Winning the Fight.
Since 2022, 88 people in Flower Mound have died from drug overdoses, including two from fentanyl and five from heroin overdoses, according to city data. No naloxone doses have been used since their installation in early September, Demmitt said.
The town received the naloxone doses at no cost from Narcan Direct, a service run by Emergent Biosolutions that provides naloxone to local governments and emergency services, Demmitt said.
Also of note
This summer, state-wide drug treatment organization Be Well Texas partnered with Reacting to Opioid Overdose, or ROO, to install a free naloxone vending machine outside live music venue Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio in Denton, following an opioid overdose and subsequent naloxone rescue, ROO founder Sharon Roland said.
“One of our main missions is to make Narcan more accessible,” Roland said. “When the cities have it available, that’s perfect, that makes everyone safer."
Looking ahead
Flower Mound’s task force plans to meet again before the end of the year, Demmitt said.
