There appears to be a slight uptick in the number of people who died from a drug overdose in Westmoreland County in 2020 after two consecutive years of decreases.
County coroner statistics show that 102 people died of a drug overdose last year and 19 more cases are suspected.
That would make for a 5% increase over 2019’s figures if those 19 suspected cases are confirmed through toxicology.
After hitting a record high of 193 drug overdose deaths in 2017, the county has seen 122 deaths in 2018 and 115 in 2019.
“We were on a nice decline for a couple years,” Coroner Ken Bacha said.
Powerful opioid fentanyl remains the top killer, contributing to 91 of the 102 confirmed deaths, according to coroner statistics.
Those in recovery from a substance abuse problem found themselves in a tough situation for much of 2020 as support organizations and rehabilitation and treatment centers had to adjust their offerings to meet state restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The in-person meetings and other events that can serve as a lifeline have been reduced in size or moved online, affecting the stability or routine on which someone may depend.
“Zoom is good, but in the 12-step world, people like to touch, hug,” said Colleen Hughes, director of the Westmoreland Drug and Alcohol Commission, referring to the video conferencing application. “Those in recovery really suffered.”
Local prevention organizations have had to come up with creative ways to get their message across, too.
The commission and Westmoreland County Overdose Task Force have both relied on drive-thru events to distribute naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote.
“We’ve had to re-create ourselves,” said Tim Phillips, director of the task force.
The organization handed out 400 to 500 doses of naloxone by partnering with the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank for drive-thru distributions, Phillips said.
“I’m hopeful our efforts with harm reduction have helped,” he said.
The commission has held similar drive-thru events and started mailing naloxone to anyone who wants a dose in Westmoreland County, Hughes said. She and Phillips thought the drug overdose deaths would have been much higher in the county for 2020 given the year’s circumstances.
In other parts of the country, they were.
Nationwide, the number of deaths appeared to be on the rise in 2020 after a slight leveling off in the previous couple years, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The organization issued an alert in December that expanded prevention efforts were needed after deaths appeared to be accelerating during the pandemic.
It was unclear how Allegheny’s 2020 drug overdose deaths would compare to 2019 when 564 people died and 492 deaths in 2018, according to medical examiner statistics. There have been 492 drug overdose deaths reported in Allegheny in 2020, but it was unclear the last time that information was updated on OverdoseFreePa.com.
Fentanyl was the top contributor to drug overdose deaths in Westmoreland last year, followed by heroin and prescription opioids. Hughes and Phillips said fentanyl — which has held the top spot since 2016 — is appearing mixed with other drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine. Cocaine was present in 23 deaths and methamphetamine in 16 of the confirmed cases, according to coroner statistics.
Monessen has been hit hard with overdose deaths in 2020. There were 10 confirmed deaths there, making it the second-highest municipality in the county behind Greensburg, where Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital is located. In 2019, one person died from an overdose in Monessen.
Hughes said the commission, which is based in Monessen, plans to focus on the city by putting yard signs up in the locations of the deaths to remind residents that naloxone is available. Members of the Mon Valley Opioid Coalition planned to discuss ways to focus on the town that borders Washington County.
Of the 2020 deaths confirmed so far, Hempfield and North Huntingdon each had seven and New Kensington and Sewickley each had five. Greensburg had the most with 12.
