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WUWM's Emily Files reports on education in southeastern Wisconsin.

Following deaths of two students from fentanyl in 2021, UWM makes Narcan available on campus

polie chief
Emily Files
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WUWM
UWM Police Chief David Salazar shows reporters a Narcan box in Sandburg Hall.

After two University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students died from fentanyl poisoning last year, the university is stepping up overdose prevention efforts.

UWM announced Monday that it installed 21 Narcan kits at its Milwaukee, Waukesha and Washington County campuses. Narcan, or naloxone, is a nasal spray that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

In February 2021, UWM freshman Logan Rachwal died in his dorm after taking a fentanyl-laced pill. His mother, Erin Rachwal, says Logan most likely thought he was taking oxycodone. He was on the phone with his girlfriend, who thought he fell asleep.

Logan Rachwal died in Feburary 2021 after taking a pill laced with fentanyl.
Courtesy Rachwal family
Logan Rachwal died in Feburary 2021 after taking a pill laced with fentanyl.

"I do believe if fentanyl was not around, Logan would still be here," Erin Rachwal said. "He may be battling an addiction, but he would still be here."

Several months later, another UWM student overdosed on a pill containing fentanyl. Cade Reddington was also a freshman, and he lived in the same dorm as Logan — Sandburg Hall. His mother, Michelle Kullman, said his roommates assumed he fell asleep on a beanbag chair.

"To get that phone call the next morning that your son died from a drug overdose, when I didn’t have any idea he was using drugs — I was like no, this couldn’t be, he wouldn’t do that," Kullman said. "He would never take too much of something. It made absolutely no sense to me."

Cade Reddington died from fentanyl in the same UWM dorm building as Logan Rachwal, several months later.
Courtesy Michelle Kullman
Cade Reddington died from fentanyl in the same UWM dorm building as Logan Rachwal, several months later.

Kullman later found out that Cade thought he was taking Percocet, not fentanyl.

On August 17, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services issued a public health advisory warning of the increased number of deaths due to fentanyl-laced drugs.

"DHS data shows that just last year, synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, were identified in 91% of opioid overdose deaths in Wisconsin, and in 73% of all overdose deaths," a DHS press release said. "From 2019 to 2021, the number of fentanyl overdose deaths in the state grew by 97%."

To protect other students from overdose, Kullman and Erin Rachwal have pushed UWM for months to install Narcan kits on campuses. UWM Police Chief David Salazar credited them with humanizing the problem.

"Out of that tragedy comes something good, is how I like to think about it," Salazar said at a press conference Monday. "Unfortunately what we’re doing today will save lives but it won’t bring back either one of these gentlemen, so it is a tragedy."

Ahead of the new school year, UWM installed Narcan boxes in all dorms and other high-traffic areas. The kits are provided by the nonprofit Wisconsin Voices for Recovery. The red-and-white boxes look similar to defibrillator kits, but they say “opioid overdose reversal.” Students can take the free medication without any repercussions.

Narcan is now available in Sandburg Hall, where two UWM students died from fentanyl-laced pills in 2021.
Emily Files
/
WUWM
Narcan is now available in Sandburg Hall, where two UWM students died from fentanyl-laced pills in 2021.

UWM is also stepping up substance abuse education — including how to recognize an overdose.

At Monday’s press conference announcing the efforts, Erin Rachwal thanked UWM. "These Narcan boxes definitely could save a life. So just a widespread thank you. It’s sad it cost my son his life. I never, ever condone any drug use, but these kids are experimenting, they’re dealing with depression, they’re dealing with anxiety."

From left to right: UWM Police Chief David Salazar, Erin Rachwal, and UWM Director of Health Promotion and Wellness Susan Cushman spoke about Narcan being made available on campus at a press conference Monday.
Emily Files
From left to right: UWM Police Chief David Salazar, Erin Rachwal, and UWM Director of Health Promotion and Wellness Susan Cushman spoke about Narcan being made available on campus at a press conference Monday.

The mothers said UWM still has work to do. Despite their advocacy, they said the school didn’t initially invite them to Monday’s Narcan press conference. They learned about it from reporters. Kullman was unable to attend, adding to her frustrations.

"It’s been disappointing how the school has handled both Erin and myself, and the lack of compassion toward the loss of our kids," Kullman said.

UWM apologized for not inviting Kullman and Erin Rachwal to Monday’s event, saying it was an oversight.

Kullman wishes UWM would be more open about what happened to Cade and Logan. And she wishes they had acted faster to install Narcan and increase education. Another school, UW-Oshkosh, installed Narcan months ago in November 2021.

UWO spokesperson Natalie Johnson said between February and May 2022, Narcan has been taken out of the boxes seven times, and UW-Oshkosh Police have administered Narcan one time to a person not affiliated with the university.

Erin Rachwal and Kullman are pushing even more campuses to make Narcan publicly available.

"I truly believe that this is something that should be like a fire extinguisher box, not one that people don’t want to touch, but one that should be in every school that kids can access," Erin Rachwal says. "Because if it would have been accessible and the kids would have been able to recognize the amnesty laws, they may have been able to save my son. Cade also may have been able to be saved."

After meeting with Kullman and Erin Rachwal, former interim UW-System President Tommy Thompson sent a memo to chancellors encouraging them to install Narcan on campuses. System spokesperson Mark Pitsch said 11 out of 13 campuses have done so or plan to do so. Pitsch said the other two, UW-Platteville and Superior, will have officers trained to administer Narcan.

Editor's note: WUWM is a service of UW-Milwaukee.

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Emily is WUWM's education reporter and a news editor.
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