13 Apr Anne Arundel sees decrease in opioid overdoses, fatalities through April
The number of opioid overdoses in the county has decreased by nearly 25 percent, with overdose fatalities down by 37 percent, according to a report by the Anne Arundel County Department of Health and Anne Arundel County Police Department.
The county has had 234 total overdoses — including 37 fatal overdoses so far this year, according to the report. By the same time last year , the county had 310 total overdoses with 59 fatal overdoses.
County police spokeswoman Jackie Davis considers drug education for the public, administration of Narcan and law enforcement to be factors that have helped decrease opioid overdoses in the county, specifically the introduction of Safe Stations, a program started two years ago making county fire and police stations available for people seeking treatment, care and a place to dispose of drug paraphernalia.
“It is not something we can say for certain but we have been noticing a rise in our Safe Station numbers,” Davis said. “We can correlate it to our Safe Stations and having help readily available.”
Since starting to spread the word on programs, the county has been able to help the community more, said Jennifer Corbin, the crisis response director at the Anne Arundel County Mental Health Agency.
“People have called the warm line and we have reached people not just at the fire station but at places like the library or fast food places,” she said.
The warm line allows callers access to the crisis line, mental health assistance or a space to just talk.
According to Corbin, she counted nearly 400 assessments, people who come in for help, at Safe Stations. The number includes people who may have relapsed and are coming back for help again, especially because the services are available 24/7.
“People who are in recovery tell me that we were there when they were ready and not having to wait,” Corbin said.
Along with Safe Stations, police and fire personnel can administer Narcan. Since the start of 2019, the county fire department administered it 182 times, according to fire officials, and the police administered it a total of 36 times, including four times in Annapolis.
For county and Annapolis City police, Narcan was used 20 less times this year compared to the same time last year, according to county police.
The Anne Arundel Department of Health has also started a mobile wellness program and is moving forward with fentanyl test strips distribution.
This past Tuesday, the mobile wellness initiative began and about 30 people showed up to the bus to ask questions about the service, according to Anne Arundel County’s acting health officer, Billie Penley.
“Transportation is a big issue within the county,” Penley said. “We are taking services to where the clients are — we are going into the community.”
The bus, available on Tuesdays and Fridays, is staffed with a registered nurse practitioner, nurse and peer support specialist.
The leading substance that led to fatal overdoses was fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is cheaper to make than heroin but is much more potent.
Earlier this year, state department health officials purchased 66,000 fentanyl test strips that will be distributed to county health departments and other organizations. These test strips can detect whether drugs such as heroin or cocaine have been mixed with fentanyl.
[ad_2]
Source link
No Comments