Worcester one of only a few Massachusetts cities to see rise in opioid overdose deaths – News – telegram.com

BOSTON — Opioid-related overdose deaths continue to decline in Massachusetts, but in Worcester, they have jumped – increasing 21% from 80 in 2017 to 97 in 2018, according to newly-released figures from the state Department of Public Health.

Statewide, the numbers dropped an estimated 4% between 2016 and 2018.

Worcester was one of 10 municipalities identified by the state as experiencing a notable increase in opioid-related fatal overdoses among its residents, occurring within its boundaries, or both.

Other municipalities in this group are Barnstable, Chicopee, Framingham, Gardner, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Marlboro and Springfield. The state defined a notable increase as having an absolute difference of 10 or more opioid-related fatal overdoses between 2017 and 2018 and at least a 20% change during that period.

Dr. Matilde Castiel, Worcester’s commissioner of health and human services, said the numbers motivate them to continue working to decrease fatal overdoses.

“I’ve been following those numbers, and for me, it’s how can I keep talking about it, what other things do I need to do, how can we keep working on it?” Dr. Castiel said Wednesday.

The statistics were released in the latest quarterly opioid-related overdose deaths report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. For the first three months of 2019, preliminary data show 497 confirmed and estimated opioid-related fatal overdoses statewide.

According to the DPH, there were 2,033 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths statewide in 2018. That’s 17 fewer than the 2,050 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths in 2017 and 67 fewer than 2,100 confirmed deaths in 2016.

“The inroads we are making are also the result of our relentless focus on using data to drive our decision-making around programs and policies,” state Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said in a statement. “We continue to focus our efforts on multiple strategies that are proven effective.”

The state noted that the decline in fatal opioid-related overdoses came despite “the persistent presence of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl.”

Fentanyl was present in the toxicology of 89% of those who died of an opioid-related overdose and had a toxicology screen, the state report said.

The presence of stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines has also been increasing in opioid-related deaths since 2017, while the presence of heroin or suspected heroin in opioid-related overdose deaths has been declining since 2014, according to the DPH.

The percentage of opioid-related overdose deaths where prescription drugs were present trended downward from 2014 to 2016 and has remained stable since then, according to the state. In the fourth quarter of 2018, approximately 13% of opioid-related overdose deaths had prescription opioids present in toxicology, the state said.

“While we remain encouraged that opioid-related overdose deaths have declined over the last two years, the epidemic continues to present very real challenges across Massachusetts that are made worse by the presence of fentanyl, cocaine and amphetamines,” Gov. Charles D Baker Jr. said in a statement. “We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Legislature to provide the $266 million we proposed in our budget to support prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery services in addition to $5 million for a new Regional Fentanyl Interdiction Task Force.”

Dr. Castiel listed a number of initiatives the city has undertaken to try to curb the opioid epidemic, and which generally focus on three areas: outreach, education and treatment.

She noted that the city has instituted a number of efforts to connect people who are addicted, or at high risk of addiction, with treatment – for instance, including an addiction specialist on the city’s Quality of Life team when it visits homeless encampments; instituting a needle exchange; doing outreach to the homeless who congregate at the Worcester Public Library; and working with women who are trafficked and suffering from addiction.

On the education front, the city has trained the police and fire departments in using the opioid-antidote naloxone and trained all city workers on addiction. The schools include curricula on addiction prevention and mental health care.

Finally, regarding treatment, steps have been taken to encourage doctors to provide suboxone treatment for patients, and addicted inmates are now provided with suboxone treatment while incarcerated and naloxone when they are released, Dr. Castiel said.

“I’m proud of what we’ve done, I know our numbers don’t show what we do, but I think it will turn around and we’ll do better,” Dr. Castiel said.

Yet, she acknowledged “there is more work to be done.

“As I look at some of the things that we need to do to change this, I think we need to look at wrap-around services,” Dr. Castiel said, noting that addiction can often result from underlying mental health issues, stress from a lack of housing or income, and more.

She also stressed the need for more community support for those with addiction – saying that it is still stigmatized.

“One of the things that I would love to have – it’s gotten better – but I would love to have more buy-in from the community,” Dr. Castiel said.

She said this support could come not just in providing treatment but also in the form of hiring or renting to people suffering from addiction.

But most importantly, Dr. Castiel said that nobody’s giving up.

“Our goal has to be to continue pushing forward, put more things in place and continue to advocate,” she said.