Strategy for drug battle

Task force lists ideas to curb heroin outbreak

As heroin deaths skyrocket, more needs to be done to provide drug treatment to uninsured addicts in Palm Beach County seeking recovery, according to a list of recommendations released Friday aimed at addressing the crisis.

Palm Beach County’s publicly funded residential detox program only has space for 22 poor and uninsured patients, said Linda Kane, housing coordination manager for Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network.

“It’s a huge problem,” Kane said, adding, “That is probably one our greatest needs in Palm Beach County.”

The heroin overdose task force has been studying the issue since May, and it is finalizing a list of recommendations for policymakers. Once that list is finalized in the next few weeks, it will be presented to county, state and federal leaders, she said.

One of the report’s findings is that there aren’t enough treatment beds where poor addicts can go to be weaned off heroin and other addictive drugs, Kane said.

It’s ironic, she said, that Palm Beach County has such a large number of forprofit drug treatment providers and sober homes marketed toward out-ofstate residents but few re-

sources for uninsured addicts living in the community of nearly 1.4 million people.

About 68 indigent clients are on a wait list for a bed, officials say, and as they wait, the overdose problem is only getting worse.

More than 375 people overdosed and died from opiates such as heroin between January and September of this year, surpassing the total death count from 2015, said Dr. Michael Bell, chief medical examiner for Palm Beach County.

The task force has other recommendations to save lives, including:

declaring the heroin epidemic a public health crisis,

increasing the availability of overdose reversal drugs,

educating doctors on safe prescribing practices of painkillers,

and promoting clean needle exchange programs.

Starting next year, Palm Beach Fire Rescue will spearhead a pilot program to provide counseling and medication to addicts who overdose and visit the emergency room.

Another task force started by the State Attorney’s Office will propose legislation to address the proliferation of unscrupulous sober homes.

While some providers offer excellent care, the business model of some sober homes and drug treatment centers generates money for operators while providing little actual help for those in recovery, officials say.

As prosecutors move to shut down illegitimate providers, recovering addicts could be forced onto the streets, presenting another challenge for policymakers, said Alan Johnson, who is leading the sober homes task force.

“When the rogue sober homes close down, there is going to be a homeless issue in Palm Beach County,” Johnson said.