Report: Fatal overdoses in county remain steady

The total number of overdose deaths in Franklin County during the first eight months of 2018 reached 345, equaling the total of the first eight months in 2017, the Franklin County coroner’s office announced Friday.

And though the overall number of overdose deaths remained the same, opioidrelated deaths took a minor dip, going from 303 in the first eight months of 2017 to 301 during the same period in 2018, according to a news release from the coroner’s office.

“The one positive is that it’s not an increase,” said Dr. Anahi Ortiz, Franklin County coroner, though she warned that there still is time in the year for an increase. “It has been increasing since 2012 every year. This is the first time really that it’s plateaued.”

Ortiz said that for there to be a decrease in overdose deaths, there needs to be more treatment facilities that take people without insurance or Medicaid. Most medical facilities, she noted, require some form of insurance to receive treatment.

Of this year’s 345 overdose deaths in Franklin County, 246 were male and 99 were female. In addition, 76 percent were Caucasian, 21 percent were AfricanAmerican and 3 percent were Hispanic, a graphic that accompanied the release showed.

Among the drugs listed as contributing to overdose deaths in 2017, carfentanil, a synthetic opioid listed as 10,000 times more potent than morphine by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, saw the biggest decline in related deaths, going from 64 in the first eight months of 2017 to only six in 2018, the coroner’s office reported.

The biggest increase by total came from fentanyl, with 263 related deaths in the first eight months of 2018 compared with 211 during the same period in 2017. Based on percentage, the most drastic increase was with meth-related deaths, rising to 36 in 2018 after 17 in 2017.

The changing rates of the overdose deaths by drug types are signs of a shifting but complex landscape in how public health officials tackle the drug issues, Franklin County Public Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola said.

“We do have a change, but the degree is still there and in some cases worse,” Mazzola said. “We need to continue to think comprehensively not just as one drug, but addiction that can lead to death in the community.”

In Columbus, the areas listed in the news release as having the most overdose deaths were in ZIP codes 43207, 43204, 43223, 43213 and 43123.