The Daily News | By the numbers: Opiate and heroin deaths jumped in GLOW region from 2015 to 2017

BATAVIA — The stories have become familiar to anybody who follows the news.

A man is found unresponsive and not breathing in a car parked roadside in Castile. Another man overdoses while being taken into custody during the same incident.

Three Lockport residents face life in prison for the overdose death of a Medina man.

Statistics show the rise of heroin and fentanyl in Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming and Livingston counties — a deadly scourge which might have been unthinkable a decade ago.

“It has been astonishing to see the burden in our communities, jail, hospital, outpatient treatment, and human services,” said Wyoming County Public Health Administrator, Laura Paolucci, who also belongs to the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force.

The GOW Task Force is working to tackle the crisis locally. It released a presentation in January detailing some of the effects opiates have had on the area.

Statistics from the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office — tracing deaths related solely to heroin/morphine and or/Fentanyl and its analogs — tell the tale.

■ Genesee County — The county experienced two such deaths in 2015, followed by no deaths in 2016. But the numbers jumped to 19 heroin/fentanyl deaths in 2017.

■ Orleans County — The county experienced no such deaths in 2015; eight in 2016; and 15 in 2017.

■ Wyoming County — The county had two such deaths in 2015; seven in 2016; and 11 in 2017.

■ Livingston County — The county had one such death in 2015; eight in 2016; and 15 in 2017.

Opiate overdoses

Overall opiate overdose deaths for Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties increased from nine in 2010 to 39 in 2017.

When calculated in terms of overdose deaths per 100,000 people for 2017, Genesee County led the three counties with 36.2, followed by Wyoming at 27.2 and Orleans at 17.1.

In comparison, the highest rates nationwide were in Kentucky and Ohio, which recorded 39 opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 people.

The numbers of Naloxone admissions — the opioid overdose antidote — likewise increased dramatically over a two-year period.

Known Naloxone administration within the three counties likewise showed a dramatic increase over two years, although the GOW study notes that reporting sources vary — they often don’t include times when the antidote was administered by family members, loved ones and others.

The numbers included:

■ Genesee County — Known Naloxone administrations increased from 14 in 2016 to 90 in 2017.

■ Orleans County — Known administrations increased from six in 2016 to 54 in 2017.

■ Wyoming County — Known administrations decreased from 29 in 2016 to 20 in 2017.

The New York State Department of Health has likewise created an online Opioid Data Dashboard providing up-to-date data on opiate overdoses and related issues.

Ongoing effort

The Task Force is collaborating to address the issue, and is among many organizations and agencies involved.

“Through active collaboration and engagement across our tri-county region, we envision a community free from opioid related deaths and overdoses,” a set of talking points reads. “The goals of the GOW Opioid Task Force are to stop and reduce the number of deaths attributed to opioids in the GOW region and decrease the number of overdoses resulting from opioids in the GOW region. There are five workgroups committed to providing our community with relevant and up to date resources, services, and support.”

Levels of care and access to care are increasing through its work with the help of the greater Rochester Health Foundation.

Among other efforts, hospitals in each county will soon provide buprenorphine bridge doses — which can be used to treat opioid addiction — and provide access to care through direct referrals and linkages at the facilities.

The Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc. has also begun offering transportation to regular appointments for Medication-Assisted Treatments.

The Task Force is scheduled to meet again Wednesday in Batavia.

The state DOH opioid report for 2017 can be found at https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/opioid/data/pdf/nys_opioid_annual_report_2017.pdf