Although the opioid crisis hasn’t dominated the major headlines recently, its scale and scope haven’t waned; in fact, it’s worsening. A new study highlighted in July in the Harvard Gazette showed that without public health interventions, the number of overdose deaths will continue to rise.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that nationwide overdose deaths hit 68,000 in 2020 and rose to more than 80,000 by 2021. The data for 2022 has yet to be released, but researchers believe that number will hit six figures.
To increase awareness and help combat the dilemma locally, the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce (SWGC) invited Tom Branch, Opioid Surveillance and Prevention Specialist with Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale Public Health (GNR Public Health), to its July Coffee Connections Spotlight Series to discuss the root causes of opioid addiction and ways to help reduce the number of deaths.
“We like to go around the community and open people’s eyes to the opioid crisis,” stated Branch. “It’s happening everywhere; it’s not limited to the homeless person living under the bridge. That’s the scary part about it.”
Branch shared that even though he’s been a lifesaving first responder in law enforcement and the fire department, he has a family member who fell victim to opioids.
“My son is four years into recovery now. So, I can tell you, just from a stepdad’s point of view, that it took him four times. But he’s been clean for four years now, and we’re so proud,” said Branch.
Escalating drug overdoses
To put the predicament into a historical perspective, Branch pointed out that in 1991, the CDC started seeing a substantial number of overdose deaths. This increased into 2010.
“The heroin crisis really opened people’s eyes,” he said.
In 2018, the federal government allocated $1 billion for the opioid crisis and distributed it throughout the United States. That year, the state of Georgia received its share and distributed it to 18 different health districts. “All 18 districts have a person like me working within their group,” said Branch.
GNR Director Dr. Audrey Arona searched for about six months before coaxing Branch out of retirement. When he first started, health officials had no idea that this emergency would balloon as it has.
“In 2018, they knew something was going on. The last good statistics we have are from 2021, and you can see heroin just leveled out. But opioids and other drug overdose deaths just went through the roof,” Branch noted.
That led to the creation of the Overdose Map (OD Map). Now Branch’s number one duty is to partner with law enforcement to track where and when overdoses occur.
“It shows where the drugs are being sold,” said Branch. “Most people buy a drug, and they don’t go far to use it. And if they do die or overdose, we want to know where it is. This map helps law enforcement target dealers, but it also helps prevention and treatment specialists know where they can put resources.
“If we have a hotspot in a different area and it happens certain times of the year, certain times of the month, or certain times of the day, we can interject law enforcement to go in one day, and then the next day, so prevention people can go in and try to figure out who these people are who need help,” Branch stated.
Branch is part of the control enforcement group run by the Office of the State Attorney General. Its purpose is to try to figure out what the next steps are for this problem.
“One of the big steps that we’ve seen in Gwinnett is prosecuting people for selling drugs that are killing people,” Branch stated. “Presently, there are nine people in the county jail who have sold fentanyl-laced pills to somebody in our community, and they’ve died.”
“For instance,” Branch added, “In July, we had 80 overdoses within a seven-day period. That’s crazy. So, we knew something was going on. We partner with law enforcement, and then they go to the media and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a problem. People are trying to kill our citizens. And …if you want Narcan, here’s where you can pick it up.’”
Narcan is a medicine that can reverse overdoses in people who have opioids in their systems.
Everyone’s role in the solution
One area that Branch and his colleagues are working on is informing physicians that opioids don’t always need to be prescribed for pain management.
Through the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, an electronic database used to monitor the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances, the control enforcement group wants to encourage doctors to exercise more caution when prescribing opioids.
“Please be an advocate for your family, for your children and for your friends about opioids,” Branch urged. “We had a coworker whose son had his wisdom teeth taken out and the doctor prescribed him 20 opioid painkillers. The alternative is to try an over-the-counter analgesic like Tylenol or Advil and tell the doctor you don’t want those strong pain medications because they’re addictive,” Branch explained.
“One thing I will tell you about opioids, and it’s mostly oxycodone, …when [pharmaceutical companies] originally started selling this to doctors and telling them how important it was, they did not tell them how addictive it is,” he said.
Another key point Branch stressed is that first responders can’t physically be everywhere to administer Narcan, but saving the life of someone suspected of overdosing is so easy that almost anyone can do it.
In Gwinnett County, there are clinics in Norcross and Lawrenceville that pass out Narcan kits. There’s a strategic plan in place to have them available at every health department.
“Prevention education within our community is also a major part,” said Branch. “We have people in our state who don’t even want to look into whether they need it, but we continue to discuss it, talk about it and try to get other people involved.”
Attending events like SWGC’s July Spotlight Series is one way to learn about opioid addiction and get more Narcan kits into the hands of everyday people. Branch said the only way to beat this catastrophe is to get everyone involved.
Learn More about Opioids
gnrhealth.com/opioids
Georgia Crisis & Access Line
1-800-715-4225
mygcal.com
