In response to a rise in overdose deaths in Westchester County during the COVID-19 pandemic, the county departments of Community Mental Health, Health, Social Services, Public Safety, the Medical Examiner’s Office and the County Executive’s Office have partnered with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, and local and federal law enforcement to launch the Opioid Response and Overdose Prevention Initiative, ORI. The ORI brings together key stakeholders from across Westchester County who work collaboratively to prevent overdose deaths, and save lives.
ORI partners meet regularly to address the following:
• Collaborate on public health and law enforcement data sharing.
• Identify which communities are most in need of overdose support services.
• Execute more effective education, training and distribution of Naloxone or “Narcan,” a vital tool for preventing fatalities in people at a high risk for drug overdoses.
• Conduct more thorough data collection, analysis and transparency relating to overdoses.
• Increase community education, outreach and support services to populations in need.
• Increase access to addiction, mental health and co-occurring treatment, harm reduction and family support services, including substance use prevention services.
• Find and implement evidence-based treatment approaches for individuals with addiction who are also struggling with co-occurring mental health needs.
“Preventing and combating overdoses is a top priority for me that requires action from those in government and community partners,” Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah said. “This initiative will allow us to more effectively collaborate, to create meaningful solutions that address all components of this crisis, and to develop enforcement strategies that target emerging threat areas and individuals, including medical professionals, who perpetuate the opioid
crisis by supplying those suffering from substance use disorders, including minors, with harmful substances.”
According to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses in the U.S. during the 12-month period ending in April 2021, accounting for the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a single year. Seventy-five percent of those
overdose deaths were opioid-related, primarily involving fentanyl.
Westchester County also experienced an increase in overdoses at the local level, recording 119 overdose deaths in 2020, an increase of 28 over the previous year. In addition, there have been many nonfatal overdoses in the county, which can cause serious physical and emotional impact on the individual and their
loved ones.
The efforts of the ORI have already led to positive results. Westchester County has increased naloxone education, and equipped local law enforcement departments, emergency medical services and the general community with the potentially life-saving drug. Medication Assisted Treatment has also expanded
to facilitate increased access to substance use disorder treatment. The entities participating in the ORI have the data sharing abilities to identify which communities are most in need of overdose support, and assist them with the services they need.
“Substance use disorder is a complex and often multifaceted disease that requires an all hands on deck approach to address,” said county Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler. “The ORI brings together individuals across disciplines to provide their unique expertise around prevention, response and treatment. Collaboration between public health and mental health professionals, law enforcement, first responders, the medical community and people who use drugs, gives us the ability to transform the way we understand the problem, as well as how we prevent and treat it.”
(Submitted)
