Harford continues to have some of the state's highest overdose rates, levels that state public health officials say have reached epidemic proportions, County Health Officer Susan Kelly said Thursday.
That rising tide of accidental overdose deaths from drugs and alcohol, particularly those involving heroin and other opiates, continues to concern local health, law enforcement and elected officials. To that end, several initiatives have started this year to confront the problem. The most recent was announced Wednesday when Bel Air Police reported its officers will be trained and equipped with the anti-opiate Narcan used to prevent death in heroin overdoses.
Among local police agencies, Bel Air joins the Harford County Sheriff's Office, the Aberdeen Police Department and Maryland State Police assigned to the Bel Air Barrack in deploying Narcan in an effort to reduce the number of deaths from opiate intoxication.
A statewide report released Tuesday showed heroin-related deaths in Maryland were 25 percent higher than the previous year and more than double the 2010 total. In 2014, Harford County ranked sixth among 24 Maryland counties and Baltimore City with 43 accidental overdose deaths, according to a State Health Department report released Tuesday, up from 36 in 2013.
"The data from the report comes as no great surprise given what we are seeing in our treatment programs and serves as yet another call to action," Kelly said.
"The Health Department is working closely with our partners at the state and local levels to address this problem of epidemic proportion," she continued. "We also are reminded and want the public to know that what may have once been perceived as an issue exclusive to one region or demographic in Harford, or for that matter any other county, is in fact, a universal one."
Of those deaths, at least 23 were heroin-related, while 20 were related to other opiates, including prescription drugs such as methadone and oxycodone, according to the report. Harford ranked seventh in heroin-related deaths in Maryland last year and third in other opiate-related deaths, including a three-fold increase in oxycodone-related deaths from three to nine.
Some deaths could be attributed to more than a single substance, so there is not a one-to-one correlation in the way the deaths are listed, a spokesperson for the county Health Department said.
Alcohol-related intoxication deaths rose from four in 2013 to eight last year, according to the report, while deaths where psychotropic benzodiazepine substances were found by medical examiners increased from three to eight.
Kelly also noted that data from the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration, formerly the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration, shows the rate of heroin-related admissions in Harford County jumped from 87 in 2012 to 138 in 2013 to 186 in 2014, the department said.
According to the Harford County Sheriff's Office, the county's Narcotics Task Force has responded to 49 non-fatal and 10 fatal suspected heroin overdose incidents since Jan. 1.
"These numbers are fluid as investigations continue and medical examiner reports are finalized that determine if, in fact, the overdose was cause by heroin use or by another means," Sheriff's Office spokesperson Cristie Kahler cautioned Thursday.
The task force, which is made up of detectives from several local police agencies under supervision of the Sheriff's Office, began sending detectives to every overdose call this year in an effort to identify and eliminate sources of supply of heroin.
"The Bel Air Police Department will begin carrying Naxolone [Narcan], in an effort to become more proactive in dealing with the growing heroin issue," interim Chief Jack Meckley said in a statement issued Wednesday.
Naxolone, commonly known by its brand name Narcan, can be administered by officers to people experiencing, or believed to be experiencing opioid overdoses, Meckley noted. Quickly administering Narcan can help reverse the effects of heroin and prevent fatal overdoses, when emergency medical personnel are not readily available.
"The Bel Air Police Department will be trained in the use of the drug by the Harford County Health Department and all officers will be equipped with this life saving medication," he said. "We will continue to work closely with the Harford County Drug Task Force, as well as the Harford County Office of Drug Control Policy, as we in the Law Enforcement field work to help combat this deadly trend."
The Sheriff's Office has 200 deputies trained and carrying Narcan, including majors, the colonel and Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, Kahler said.
Aberdeen Police have trained and equipped all the department's approximately 45 sworn officers with Narcan, a spokesperson said. A State Police Bel Air Barrack spokesperson said all troopers on road duty, approximately 25 to 30, have been trained to use Narcan. The Havre de Grace Police Department does not currently deploy Narcan, a spokesperson said.
The health department said Naloxone/Narcan training has resulted to date in 20 approximately overdose reversals.
Meckley, on loan to the town from the Sheriff's Office, where he serves at the rank of major, noted that when task force detectives are called to the scene of a suspected overdose, they conduct interviews with any witnesses to gain knowledge about how it is obtained, but they also hand out "ready for help" information card at each non-fatal situation, the victim can have access to community health resources to help them cope with their addiction.
The Health Department's Behavioral Health Division is the county's public treatment system and provides services for about 800 clients per year through a variety of services that includes various levels of client care, officials said.
The agency, "in the wake of growing concerns," recently has added several new initiatives including intensive outpatient program services; Vivitrol treatment both in the county detention center and within its outpatient program; the "Need Help" initiative of aggressive outreach to overdose survivors to attempt to involve them in treatment and Substance Exposed Newborn initiatives that provides treatment for addicted mothers.
State health agencies and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are making alcohol and drug intoxication death data available to local health departments on a quarterly basis, county health officials said.
The county Health Department and the Harford County Department of Community Services Office of Drug Control Policy recently established of an inter-agency Overdose Fatality Review Team, whose purpose the Health Department said is "to comprehensively review cases of deaths related to overdoses and to explore what other options, if any might have been accessible."
Working with other community organizations the Health department and ODCP also have initiated an Opioid Overdose Prevention Plan, whose purpose is to reduce unintentional, life-threatening poisonings related to the ingestion of opioids.
For more information about drug and alcohol disorders or available treatment, visit the Harford County Health Department website at http://www.harfordcountyhealth.com or call the Behavioral Health Division at 410-877-2340.
Aegis staff member Bryna Zumer contributed to this article.