West Valley Health Services combats the Fentanyl Epidemic with free resources for students

West Valley/Mission College District currently has free health resources that support the safety of all actively enrolled students in an effort to create awareness and destigmatize addiction in response to the opioid epidemic. 

The WVMCC district provides Narcan, Fentanyl Dosetests, and numerous educational information free to all actively enrolled students. There is a vending machine containing these resources in the FOX building, where Narcan, and the Fentanyl Dosetests are restocked weekly. Additionally, students can also go to Health Services located on the first floor of the Student Services Building. On the bottom is the Fentanyl Dosetest’s. In the middle are the Narcan boxes. This vending machine works as a regular vending machine; however, this one requires no money. (This picture of the vending machine was taken on August 11th, 2025, at 11:19 am. CAPTION)

Kelsey Turbalki, District Nurse of West Valley Mission Community Colleges, said in an interview, “I have not noticed the fentanyl epidemic affecting the West Valley campus community specifically.” Kelsey states that West Valley College is part of a bigger community that is Santa Clara County. “West Valley and Santa Clara County are fortunate enough to be within communities where education around drugs, testing drugs, and the fentanyl crisis are widely acknowledged, talked about, and educated on.” Kelsey spends much of her time advocating for resources and working with students and staff to communicate these resources and their benefits. 

The CDC has data on the nationwide fentanyl epidemic, which includes research on the impacts in California. One report includes the recommendation that “increasing communities' overdose prevention and response support, capacity, and education may help save lives.”

Kelsey sees it as her mission to follow CDC recommendations for fentanyl prevention and response. She says that at West Valley, “the resources we receive are free from the state. The resources are available to the students through our anonymous wellness vending machines, as well as Health Services. We want people to know about the resources and utilize them often! We are here to help and ensure that people have the proper tools and are educated and protected.” 

The fentanyl drug epidemic has been going on for the past six years now; in California specifically, there has been a crisis with fentanyl overdosing. The CDC states, “Opioid-involved deaths increased substantially from 1999 to 2023, but 2023 marked the first annual decline since 2018.” This data says that there were three waves of opioid overdoses over time. The third wave (the most recent one) mainly involves synthetic opioids, particularly those with illegally made fentanyl. There are basic opioids then there are synthetic opioids. Typically, with laced drugs, it's a synthetic opioid or one laced with fentanyl in an illegal dosage amount. 

In 2023, around 217 people died a day from opioid overdose, according to “Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic.”

In 2023, a movie, “Fentanyl High,” explores how teens think and feel about the fentanyl epidemic. Students, educators, parents, and district workers were a part of the film, which included their testimonies. This movie explores some of the underlying reasons why teenagers have turned to drugs as an outlet. The first screening of “Fentanyl High” was on May 16th, 2023, at Los Gatos High School Theatre, with over 400 people attending. The main takeaways are about the educational aspect of spreading awareness, so more kids, teens, students, and community members will be informed and educated about this scary epidemic.