BATH -- Steuben County officials are poised to propose strong steps in the fight against opioid addiction when the county Legislature meets at 10 a.m. Monday (Feb. 26), with a plan to incorporate past "best practices" with innovative strategies. While the proposal will be presented to the county Legislature and the public Monday, there is overwhelming proof substance abuse has reached critical proportions in Steuben, as well as the nation:
• Steuben County experienced one of the highest rates of opioid abuse in the nine-county Finger Lakes region in 2016. *
• Steuben residents visited hospital emergency department in 2016 for opioid abuse or overdoses 121 times. * (Through narrative accounts, local officials believe that number is significantly under-reported.)
• Fourteen people died in 2016 from opioids – nearly triple the five deaths that occurred in 2015. *
• Some 54 percent of people who overdosed on opioids in the region had a prescription for opioids within the prior two years (2014 to 2016). *
• For non-heroin opioid overdoses, 68 percent of the people who overdosed had prior prescriptions for painkillers. *
• According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drug overdose deaths increased at least 21 percent from 2015 to 2016, with much of that increase driven by opioids. In the Finger Lakes, opioid-related deaths were more than double the national average, soaring 46 percent from 2015 to 2016. During the same period, heroin overdoses more than doubled from 2015 to 2016, with 613 overdoses across the region. *
• A separate report by the state in 2015 also showed an alarming trend in hospital admissions with a 28 percent increase in inpatient opioid-related hospital admissions and a 191 percent spike in emergency department admissions during the same period.**
• Nearly 80 percent of the inmates in the near-capacity Steuben County Jail are drug- or alcohol- dependent. ***
• Steuben’s position at the crossroads of three Interstates (I-86, I-390 and I-99) as well as its position close to the Pennsylvania border gives it a "ground zero" position for drug trafficking from major urban areas such as Rochester, New York and Pennsylvania. ***
The proposal Monday is expected to follow the county’s strong history of addressing alcohol and substance abuse, through victims’ panels, drug tip lines, drug court, "drop boxes" for unused medications, and working with county and outside agencies to provide help to abusers and their loved ones.
In 2017, the county held three well-attended forums to inform the public about the crisis and provide resources. Local town hall meetings also addressed the issue of alcohol abuse and opioid addictions. So far this year, a forum was held in Addison two weeks ago, and a town hall meeting specific to marijuana use is set for Wednesday (Feb. 28) in Hornell. A county-wide "Stand Up For Recovery Day" is set for 10 a.m. March 6 on the third floor atrium of the County Office Building. "Steuben County is committed to responding efficiently and effectively to a crisis that carries too high a toll on the lives and welfare of our residents," county Manager Jack Wheeler said.
* Source: Common Ground
** Source: The 2015 New York State Opioid Poisoning, Overdose and Prevention report.
*** Source: Steuben County District Attorney
