KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon
Fatal opioid overdoses in Clay County and across Missouri are beginning to decline—and health officials say one resource is making a critical difference: Narcan.
Narcan, also known as Naloxone, can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose within minutes. Since 2023, eight machines stocked with free Narcan have been placed throughout Clay County.
Ashley Wegner, Deputy Director of the Clay County Public Health Center, says that access is saving lives.
“The number one attributor that we can assign to the reduction of deaths in 2023 really is that Narcan or Naloxone that has become very readily accessible to most of the community,” said Wehner.
In the Northland Health Alliance area, which includes Clay and Platte counties, the opioid overdose death rate dipped from 16.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022 to 16.1 in 2023
Statewide, Missouri also reported its first decline in years.
“As a county we did see a decline in fatal overdoses in 2023, that decline still left us at a fairly significant rate of fatal overdoses, so this problem is not going away."
Amber Saale-Burger knows what it's like to lose someone to opioids after loosing her daughter to fentanyl nearly two years ago.
“It’s really hard to get out of bed some days,” Saale-Burger said. “We’d give anything to just have even one more minute with her.”
Kaylee dreamed of becoming a CNA but struggled with mental health and addiction. Amber says she never imagined fentanyl — a drug she only knew as a prescription for chronic pain or terminal illness — would play a role in her daughter’s death.
“We didn’t know anything at all about fentanyl," said Saale-Burger. "How are so many kids getting a hold of this?”
Since then, Amber and her husband have turned their grief into action. They created “Save a Life” stations across Kansas City — purple boxes stocked with free Naloxone, fentanyl testing strips, and information on where to get help for substance use disorder or a mental health crisis.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for someone to get help,” said Saale-Burger.
Amber agrees. She says her daughter’s story is a reminder of what’s at stake.
“This is an ongoing battle,” said Saale-Burger. “Drugs have always been around, and they’re not going anywhere. They’re getting more potent, and it’s important to talk to kids early on to get that message in their head.”
While the county is seeing a dip in opioid overdose deaths, health officials stress there's still an opioid crisis happening.
"We are still seeing that opioid like ER visits associated with opioid overdose and hospitalizations, those are still either staying steady or on the increase, so that doesn't necessarily mean that opioid use is going down."
Click this link for a full list of Narcan locations across Clay County.
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