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The deadly overdoses of opioids combined in Nassau and Suffolk fell by nearly 24% last year, officials said Tuesday. Figures pointing to increased access to treatment, stronger anti-drug measures and anti-drug programs have stalled an epidemic that has claimed thousands of lives since 2010.
Naloxone, the life-saving drug used to treat overdoses, has also allowed many users to die, who would otherwise have succumbed to opioid abuse, officials said.
Nassau officials said Tuesday that 147 people had died from overdoses in 2018, a 20.1 percent drop from 184 fatal overdoses in 2017.
"There is a glimmer of hope in these numbers," said Madeline Singas, Nassau County Attorney.
Suffolk authorities reported 308 fatal overdoses last year, 24.9% below the county's 410 fatal deaths in 2017.
The Suffolk figures do not include 121 presumptive overdose deaths – 91 last year and 30 in 2017 – that were not resolved by the coroner's office, Michael Caplan.
The numbers are encouraging, but do not mean much for Long Island families who have lost loved ones due to an opioid overdose in 2018, said addiction expert Jeffrey Reynolds, president of Family and Children's. Association.
"Until the number is zero, we have a lot of work to do," said Reynolds, whose nonprofit organization based in Mineola provides counseling and rehabilitation treatment for drug addicts. external consultation. "But the numbers are going in the right direction."
Less overdoses on Long Island reflect national trends. The Centers for Disease Control said last month that overdoses of drugs could decline for the first time in decades. The CDC said preliminary data indicated 69,100 overdose deaths for the 12-month period ending November 2018, down 73,200 deaths in 2017.
Singas said his office made it easier for drug addicts to get help by providing $ 585,000 in 2015 asset forfeiture funds to the Maryhaven Freeport New Hope Crisis Center, which provides on-demand hospital treatment. 24 hours, seven days a week.
Drug users who had overdosed in the past were released from the emergency room to find rare treatment options. The funds allow drug addicts to undergo treatment at a time when they are most vulnerable, said Singas. More than 2,200 people received treatment through New Hope.
"We were able to reach people in the emergency room," said Ashley Walker, New Hope's Director of Resident Services. "Nassau County has really done a good job in providing services."
In Suffolk County, the police have partnered with the Long Island Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse to create a program called PIVOT (Prevent Incarceration Through Treatment Options). The program encourages drug users to seek treatment. Drug addicts who have survived an overdose or who have been identified as drug abusers in police encounters are referred to LICADD counselors for referral to treatment programs.
"We will continue to be proactive in ridding our communities of opioids," said Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart.
Operation Natalie from the Nassau County Police Department, named after Natalie Ciappa, a teenage girl from Massapequa who died from a drug overdose more than 10 years ago, combined treatment, law enforcement and education. Police have used mapping technology to identify communities at risk by linking opioid overdoses and auto theft, which, according to officials, is the crime most often committed by drug addicts.
The department then intensified law enforcement in these neighborhoods, making numerous arrests. Drug traffickers were referred to the District Attorney's Office for prosecution, said Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, while users were referred for treatment. Public meetings were also held to share information with students, parents and other community members about addiction, prevention and treatment.
The department also collaborated with local wrestling, lacrosse and small league programs to educate youth about drugs. In September, the Singas office will resume the "Not My Child" anti-heroin program in Nassau schools.
"What we are doing is getting the right message across," Ryder said. "We are not yet waving the flag of victory."
LICADD Executive Director Steve Chassman said his organization has distributed naloxone – better known as Narcan – to thousands of people across Long Island. Some of the beneficiaries may have died of overdoses without the life-saving drug, he said.
"We have done a good job to make sure that naloxone is available," Chassman said.
The agency also provides drug users with fentanyl strips to determine if their heroin has been cut with the fatal synthetic opioid. The CDC has stated that fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin.
Although the decrease in overdoses is encouraging, officials said, this is no excuse for being complacent.
"Nassau County has mobilized on a large scale to meet the long-term treatment and education challenges needed to eradicate this epidemic," said County Manager Laura Curran. "We can not wait for that. For every extra life we can save, there is another family that does not have to bury a loved one. "
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