A new multi-disciplinary team will review fatal overdoses in Monroe County, with the goal of finding ways to better address the ongoing overdose crisis.
The county is leading the Overdose Fatality Review initiative, and the team will be made up of representatives from public health, mental health, public safety, and social service organizations and agencies. It will also include community members.
"Despite our community's aggressive efforts to stem the tide in Monroe County, we continue to see far too many individuals and families impacted by addiction and overdose, and it's just unacceptable," said County Executive Adam Bello.
Bello added that the initiative will bring together people and organizations most affected by the opioid crisis to review fatal overdose cases. They'll identify contributing factors to overdoses, analyze trends in data, and recommend ways for the government and community to close system gaps and better serve residents.
"The overdose fatality initiative will advance our understanding of county overdose trends," said Holly Sienkiewicz, research director for Common Ground Health. "We will be able to identify opportunities for intervention and develop and implement innovative community specific overdose prevention strategies."
The effort will be funded through a three-year $1.6 million federal grant.
Countywide, there were 512 overdose deaths in 2023, a 26% increase over the 406 overdose deaths recorded in 2022. Fentanyl was present in most of the deaths, but in recent years the number of overdoses partially or primarily involving cocaine has been on the rise.
Alcohol is also a frequent factor in overdose deaths.
Bello emphasized that not all overdose cases are the same and a tool that may have prevented one may not prevent another.
"Every fatal overdose represents a life cut short," Sienkiewicz said. "The overdose fatality review team will help us learn from those lives lost and better understand how we can prevent additional overdose deaths in the future."
