LOCAL

Ohio health officials fear coronavirus could trigger rise in drug overdoses

Catherine Candisky
The Columbus Dispatch
Some health officials fear that isolation because of the coronavirus pandemic could be deadly for those struggling with substance abuse ‒ that isolated overdose victims might have no one nearby to call an ambulance.

As Ohioans hunker down in their homes during the coronavirus crisis, some experts fear the isolation could be deadly for those struggling with substance abuse.

Franklin County is reporting an increase in fatal overdoses in recent weeks as health officials across the state keep a close watch on drug deaths.

County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz reported that 12 people died from suspected drug overdoses in a 48-hour period earlier this month.

While such a spike isn’t widespread yet in Ohio, health officials say the pandemic has brought additional risk for drug abuse. Added stress can trigger a relapse for those in recovery, and using drugs alone because of social distancing means that no one is there to call for help or administer the lifesaving drug naloxone to reverse an overdose.

In Montgomery County, Coroner Kent Harshbarger said he couldn’t provide statistics yet, but overdoses "seem to be up, along with suicides." He added, though, that “it's not dramatic or crazy."

\Harshbarger worries, however, that when the federal government’s relief checks hit bank accounts, some people will use the money to buy drugs.

Mahoning County coroner’s investigator Octavious Jones said that toxicology results aren't available to confirm, but in the past two weeks, the office serving the Youngstown area has seen a sharp increase in overdose deaths.

Capt. Dean Hettinger of the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Department, about 75 miles east of Columbus, said that 10 overdoses were reported to their office from March 15 to April 15 of this year compared to four for the same period in 2019

Fatal overdoses in Hamilton County appear to be holding steady, as they are in Stark and Licking counties. Summit County’s presumed overdoses are lower this year than last from mid-March through mid-April, droppping from 19 to 11.

In Cuyahoga County, Hugh Shannon, director of operations for the medical examiner’s office, said fatal overdoses also appear to have dropped since January in the Cleveland area, although some autopsy results are pending. He speculated that imports from China, including illegal drugs, were disrupted by COVID-19 and worries a spike may be coming when trade resumes.

“We’re keeping an eye on it,” Shannon said.

“People are scared, they’re depressed, they don’t know what’s next,” said Cheri Walter, chief executive officer of the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities.

“If you haven’t used for a while and you go back and use, particularly heroin with fentanyl or something, your tolerance is much lower. It’s easier to overdose. We’re seeing people coming out of the jails, non-violent offenders being released, if part of their issue was addiction, again, after a period of time of not using their tolerance drops. They use and then we see an increase in overdose deaths,” Walter said.

“The unfortunate thing is a lot of businesses have shut down but the selling of illicit drugs has not.”

While anecdotal evidence suggests an increase in drug overdoses in some areas, the statewide impact won’t be known for some time as county medical examiners say they typically wait six to eight weeks for toxicology reports needed to confirm a cause of death.

Coronavirus in Ohio

In Fairfield County there was one confirmed fatal overdose from March 15 to April 16. Past years have seen a range of 3 to 8 fatal overdoses in the county over March and April.

Muskingum County has only had one overdose death since March 15. Tiffany Beardsley, administrative assistant for the Muskingum County EMA and coroner’s office, said the numbers were much lower than last year. Muskingum County experienced an overwhelming influx of overdose deaths in the first quarter of 2019, although an exact number could not be located because of the stay-at-home order.

Treatment, including medications, remains available. But to overcome social distancing orders, health officials say they have had to adjust the ways they reach those in need. Clinics are offering telehealth services, hotlines have been expanded and naloxone, or Narcan, is being delivered to people’s homes.

Columbus Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika W. Roberts said the agency is now providing Narcan upon request by mail to Franklin County residents, rather than having people come in for it.

But she worries that it won’t help someone who overdoses alone.

“Usually, when we see a surge in deaths there is a corresponding surge in emergency room visits for overdoses and (emergency medical service) runs for overdoses,” Roberts said.

“But for the last two weekends, when we saw these overdose deaths increase, we didn’t see that corresponding increase in EMS runs or ER visits, so likely individuals are using alone, practicing social distancing and staying home. That loneliness might be getting to them and then they use a drug and there is no one there to provide the Narcan.”

Advocates stress that help is still available, and urge people who may be struggling to reach out.

“A lot of people just need someone to talk to. They need to know if this reaction they are having is normal. People haven’t been through this situation before,” said Dr. Delaney Smith, medical director of the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County,

“For people with addiction disorders, that’s a brain disorder and it’s easy in times of stress to fall back into old patterns and forget the coping skills they have learned in the recovery process,” she said.

“Providers are still serving patients,” Smith said. “That care is still there.”

For help, call Netcare at 614-276-2273 for adults; Nationwide Children’s Hospital at 614-722-1800 for children age 17 and younger; or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting “4hope” to 741 741 to be connected to a crisis counselor within five minutes.

Reporters Marty Schladen of the Columbus Dispatch, Leonard Hayhurst of the Coshocton Tribune, Shane Hoover of the Canton Repository, Sean McDonnell of the Akron Beacon Journal, Michaela Sumner of the Newark Advocate and Anne Saker of the Cincinnati Enquirer contributed to this story.

ccandisky@dispatch.com

@ccandisky