Years After Launching Narcan Training, Alumna Sees Its Impact Continue to Grow

When Hannah DePoy-Pratt, DO, VCOM-Virginia ’22, helped launch a Narcan training initiative as a medical student, she hoped it might continue for a year or two after she and her team graduated. But she never imagined it would still be growing years later or that it would become the basis for nationally recognized student research.

Now practicing family medicine in Blacksburg, Dr. DePoy-Pratt has a different perspective on the work she helped begin.

“At this stage of my career, I recognize the challenges that can come with getting a large group of people to pursue a united cause,” she said. “It’s pretty remarkable that over 180 exhausted, brand new medical students would collectively agree to become Narcan trained once, let alone year after year!”

The initiative, developed with support from then-dean of VCOM-Virginia Jan Willcox, DO, FACOFP-dist., has continued even though its student founders have graduated. Most recently, it became the foundation for research conducted by VCOM-Virginia student Addison Shenk, whose study on simulation-based overdose response training earned national recognition through the American Medical Association Research Challenge.

For Dr. DePoy-Pratt, the program’s longevity reflects both the persistence of the opioid crisis and the importance of preparing future physicians to address it. “I’m so grateful that others have recognized the importance in better equipping future physicians with knowledge about substance use, overdose, and harm reduction,” she said.

Though overdose deaths have declined nationally in recent years, she said physicians still face major challenges surrounding substance use disorder, particularly in rural and medically underserved communities.

“A huge factor remains access to care and availability of resources. I certainly see fewer folks being started on opioids, but I see a large population with long-term opioid dependence,” she said. “And of course, non-prescription opioids remain a significant risk in recreational drug use, especially in our adolescent population.”

She believes one of the most important roles physicians can play is simply having informed, compassionate conversations with patients. “In residency, and now as an attending, I will sometimes have patients who say, ‘Doc, I don’t know what that Narcan stuff is on my med list,’” she said. “Every time this happens, it reminds me that our job is not just to prescribe Narcan, but to explain to the patient its role.”

Those conversations, she said, often help patients understand that accidental overdose risks can affect anyone—from someone recovering from surgery to families with children in the home. She is grateful that VCOM is educating physicians who are prepared to have these types of harm-reduction conversations with patients.

For Dr. DePoy-Pratt, the continued growth of the Narcan training initiative also says something important and valuable about VCOM’s culture. “This is a testament to VCOM’s commitment to preparing physicians to care for patients in Appalachia and underserved communities in our region,” she said. “I also think that this is a testament to the encouragement of faculty mentors, which highlights the culture of support at VCOM.”

In fact, for future physicians considering medical school, that support is exactly why she recommends VCOM: “There are so many decisions that feel high-stakes in your training, but at the end of the day, you’ll thrive best in an environment where you feel supported.”

Raised outside Harrisonburg with family roots in Pendleton County, West Virginia, Dr. DePoy-Pratt’s attended West Virginia University before interviewing at VCOM. “When I came to interview at VCOM, I knew it was the place for me,” she said. “It’s hard to put words to that feeling, but it just felt like home.”

After completing residency at Inova Fairfax Family Medicine Residency, she and her husband returned permanently to Blacksburg—a decision she said reflected both her Appalachian roots and the type of community she hoped to serve. She credits VCOM not only with preparing her clinically, but also with helping shape her career path. A third-year family medicine rotation ultimately connected her with the practice where she now works.