A passenger aboard the Hy-Line Cruises ferry suffered an opioid overdose as the vessel approached Straight Wharf on Nantucket Tuesday night. A group of other passengers that included two off-duty nurses and an EMT, as well as island police officers who responded after the boat docked, may have saved the man’s life by administering two doses of Narcan.
Nantucket police officers were dispatched to the scene just after 8 p.m. and were escorted onto the boat by Hy-Line Cruises staff. The overdose victim was found lying on the ground next to the snack bar “in the recovery position” where other passengers had come to his aid, including two nurses who happened to be aboard the vessel, and a Nantucket firefighter/EMT.
The two nurses were both Nantucketers: Kelsea Gray, the clinical nurse manager and hospice nurse for VNA Care, and Caroline Knutti, a nurse from the cardiac surgery unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. So was the EMT aboard the Hy-Line, firefighter Mac Davis.
“It was a wild ride,” Gray said of the ordeal in a message to the Current. “As nurses, we’ve been trained to jump into action when someone is in need. This gentleman was clearly struggling, and with the help of some other men on board, Caroline Knutti and I were able to get him to the ground. It became apparent that the situation was likely an overdose, and we just fought to keep him breathing until we docked. He was fading fast. Mac Davis, an EMT, quickly jumped in to help as we had help searching the boat for anyone with Narcan. NPD officers got on board as we docked and we were able to get him back with two doses of Narcan.”
Nantucket Police Officer Conor Desmond wrote in his report that despite the first dose of medicine, the man’s pulse was fading, so he provided Davis, Gray, and Knutti with a second dose of Narcan which they administered and brought the man back to consciousness.
From there, Nantucket Fire Department EMTs arrived at Straight Wharf, took over responsibility for the man’s medical care, and transported him to Nantucket Cottage Hospital. His current condition is not known.
Other passengers aboard the boat, which included the Nantucket High School boys basketball team, were prevented from leaving the vessel until the overdose victim was removed and transported to the hospital.
“The biggest takeaway for me was how did we not have the tools that we needed to keep this man alive?” Gray said. “If we were 15 minutes farther out, I’m not sure how it would have gone. Narcan is something anyone can carry, and has the potential to save a life when you least expect it. I think it would be wise to look at stocking more supplies on the boat, and encouraging more individuals in our community to carry this life saving drug.”
Hy-Line Cruises President Murray Scudder said Thursday that the boat line’s vessels are equipped with automated external defibrillators (AED), but not Narcan.
“This came up awhile back and we ultimately decided not to (have Narcan), and I believe it had to do with liability and who/how to administer it,” Scudder said. “After this incident, we’ve had discussions about revisiting that and educating ourselves more about what it would entail.”
Steamship Authority communications director Sean Driscoll said all Steamship vessels are equipped with Narcan, an AED, first-aid kits, and oxygen.
