GREENFIELD — With the country continuing to grapple with the opioid crisis, Franklin County and Athol had their worst year yet with 44 suspected unintentional overdose deaths, representing an overdose rate of more than 45 deaths per 100,000 people, which is well above the state rate of 30.2 deaths per 100,000 people.
The Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region and Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan, who helped co-found the organization, discussed the increasing rate of opioid-related deaths in the area and what progress has been made in battling the epidemic during a Thursday webinar called “A Matter of Life and Death: A Look at 2021 Opioid-Related Fatalities and Trends.”
“There hasn’t been a community in Massachusetts that hasn’t been touched, especially in Franklin and Athol,” Sullivan said. “There was a dearth of resources to help people and I’m very pleased to say that has changed dramatically over the past 10 years.”
In terms of the region’s demographics, Sullivan said men fatally overdosing outnumber women two to one, but there has been an uptick in women dying of overdpses over the past three years. He added there doesn’t appear to be any racial disparity in 2021 data pertaining to Franklin and Hampshire counties, with white people making up 76% of fatal overdoses. There were three fatal overdoses reported for Hispanic people and none reported for Black people, according to Sulilivan
In age brackets, Sullivan said the 35-44 range accounts for “well-over half” of overdose deaths, which is “important to look at” as they determine strategies.
Presenting a chart, Sullivan highlighted the ever-increasing rate of opioid deaths in the region, which has not decreased since 2017. He said the introduction of fentanyl to the drug supply around 2018 has replaced heroin as the main reason for fatal overdoses.
“As much as we try to address the heroin supply, fentanyl has stepped in,” Sullivan said. “Fentanyl has really set us back in a clear way … we have to do better work in intervening and keeping people in recovery.”
Greenfield, Northampton, Orange and Ware all had notable increases in opioid deaths from 2020 to 2021. Athol’s overdose rate decreased, but each community’s overdose rate per 100,000 people remains above the state average, with Orange — with seven deaths in 2021 — reporting a region-high rate of 185.57 deaths per 100,000 people.
Sullivan said the key to reducing opioid fatalities is to make sure recovery and treatment options are available, especially in the “treatment deserts” of the North and South Quabbin regions.
Following Sullivan’s presentation, two members of the Opioid Task Force’s Community Opportunity Network Navigation Exploration and Connection Team (CONNECT) explained the “community-wide traumatic event” of the pandemic has really exacerbated opioid use in the region.
“Clearly it’s time we go back to the drawing table and see what other programming we can add to our toolbox,” said CONNECT Project Manager Taylor McAndrew.
CONNECT is a 24/7 response team that works with overdose victims and their families. The initiative offers free Narcan, the overdose-prevention drug, peer support and service referrals. CONNECT can be reached at the toll-free number 1-833-519-2735.
Dr. Ruth Potee, the Franklin County House of Correction’s medical director and an Opioid Task Force council member, said that despite the county’s best efforts, opioid deaths continue to rise.
“The numbers look so terrible, in spite of all our efforts,” Potee said. “We’ve made more improvements and more changes to make it better, and it’s so much worse.”
Potee said her ideal solution, which Sullivan advocated for earlier in the meeting, would be supervised opioid-use sites, where people could ensure their drugs are safe and they could be referred to treatment.
“People will continue to use drugs — some people are not ready for treatment — we need to keep them alive during that time,” Potee said. “Until we are able to have a legal, safe drug supply dispensary, which I don’t believe is around the corner … people need to be able to test the drugs they are using.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.