Pamela Lehman
The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — For the first time in five years, drug deaths have dropped across the state, a positive but not firm sign that the opioid crisis may be slowing.
They’re also down in the Lehigh Valley.
Data on 2018 drug deaths are still being compiled by coroners in the 67 counties and many death investigations are awaiting toxicology tests. But state and local officials believe their concerted effort to increase awareness and education, change laws and policies, and get more people into treatment may be helping.
“I am cautiously optimistic we are starting to see a bend in the curve in drug deaths, but we can’t afford to be complacent at this time,” said state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, whose office has been at the forefront in addressing the opioid crisis. “Saying this is the beginning of the end of the crisis would be an overstatement.”
Drug deaths in Pennsylvania are down more than 23 percent, according to the state’s opioid data dashboard, which compiles prevention, rescue and treatment information, and documents deaths. While the number likely will rise slightly after toxicology reports are completed, 4,267 people in Pennsylvania died from drug overdoses in 2018, nearly 1,300 fewer than the previous year.
In the Lehigh Valley, Northampton County investigated 81 drug-related deaths in 2018, a decrease of more than 44 percent from the previous year. And Lehigh County recorded 160 cases, down more than 18 percent.
“I would still caution against declaring victory in the war against opioid addiction,” said Dr. John Gallagher, of the state’s opioid task force. “The data is still so early and we are all so hesitant to say the worst has passed.”
At several roundtable discussions last year hosted by The Morning Call, those involved in fighting the epidemic said they feared it could be more than a decade before drug deaths dropped significantly.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to release 2018 numbers. But in 2017, its data showed the opioid epidemic fueled a record number of drug deaths — more than 70,000 nationwide.
The chronic nature of addiction means the number of users will grow. But those dealing with the crisis are working to slow the rate, Gallagher said.
While the number of deaths may change from year to year, for the individual, the issue remains until that person finds effective treatment, he said.
There isn’t one reason for the drop in drug deaths, but many health officials and drug treatment experts agree the increased availability of the opioid antidote naloxone has played a significant role.
State officials gave away more than 7,000 doses of naloxone last year, and Levine said another give-away event will happen sometime this summer. Putting more naloxone in the hands of not only first responders such as police officers and paramedics, but also family members of those battling addiction has made a huge impact, said Bethlehem City Health Director Kristen Wenrich.
Gallagher agreed.
“With easier availability and faster response, those victims that would have died are now surviving,” he said.
Tackling addiction with medication and programs that offer immediate treatment options are also critically important, said J. Layne Turner, Lehigh County’s drug and alcohol administrator.
He said partnerships with area hospitals and drug treatment facilities also have helped stem the tide, including a program at Lehigh Valley Health Network that allows toxicologists to aid patients in getting medication that can help them maintain their recovery.
Lehigh County’s Blue Guardian program has also had an impact, Turner said. The program allows police officers and addiction recovery counselors to visit Lehigh County homes after an emergency response for a drug overdose, with the goal of getting that person into treatment. The program has become so popular that Turner said some people are requesting a Blue Guardian visit before an overdose occurs.
“It’s a way to empower the community to take an active role when it comes to reaching out for help for their loved ones,” Turner said. “Instead of taking someone to the ER or arresting them, it connects them with help before any of that even happens.”
But there is still much cause for concern, he added, beginning with 160 deaths in Lehigh County, which is “way too high.”
The impetus for the crisis goes back to the late 1990s, when pharmaceutical companies persuaded doctors to prescribe painkillers they wrongly — and perhaps falsely — claimed were not addictive. That led to a rise in drug-related deaths. As authorities cracked down on doctors who over-prescribed and illegal pill mills, people looked for alternatives. They found it in heroin, which was cheap and easy to get on the street. A sharp rise in heroin deaths hit around 2010 in what the CDC calls the second wave of the crisis. Three years later, fentanyl ushered in the third and most deadly wave. The powerful synthetic opioid that often is mixed with cocaine or methamphetamine to amplify its effect, has replaced heroin as the leading cause of death in drug overdoses.
Turner said that while law enforcement, politicians and health officials have focused on opioids, the epidemic has widened, with drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine on the rise. Most of the available treatment money, however, is tied to opioids, he noted.
Effectively tackling addiction requires more than treatment, Turner said. It means putting supports in place to prevent relapse, and providing help with housing and quality of life issues. It takes changes in society too, he said, including the mindset of employers who are reluctant to offer jobs to those with a criminal history.
That, he said, is a more thoughtful approach to the problem.
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