Ryan calls fentanyl deaths ‘emergency’
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan has declared a public health emergency due to the recent spike in fentanyl-related deaths in the county.
Ryan made the declaration Monday, which was International Overdose Awareness Day. In a press release, he said local opioid-related deaths between January and July 2020 were 171% higher than during the same period in 2019.
Also during the first seven months of this year, fentanyl-related deaths accounted for 89% of all opioid-related deaths in Ulster County, a significant jump from the 58% rate of 2018, Ryan said.
Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.
Ryan said there have been 34 fentanyl-related deaths in Ulster County so far this year.
“I’m declaring this public health emergency to make sure we have all hands on deck, working together, to combat this deadly drug,” he stated in the press release.
Ryan has said combating the county’s opioid problem is one of the top five priorities of his administration.
“This is an issue that I take extremely seriously, and we will continue to work with our many partners to continue to raise awareness and work to save lives,” he said.
Ryan said Ulster County’s Healing Communities Study team will partner with the county Sheriff’s Office to create a “spike alert” communications plan that will give real-time updates to treatment providers when there is a spike of overdoses, fatal or nonfatal, in a 24-hour period. That way, he said, providers can be made aware that there could be a bad batch of fentanyl-laced drugs in circulation.
The Sheriff’s Office will manage a data system to track the spikes, and the county will provide “realtime” updates to treatment organizations and the press to reach people who are at risk of overdosing, Ryan said. He said spike alerts will include information about treatments, and how to obtain naloxone (Narcan) and other harm-reduction supplies.
The Healing Communities Study team also will also create a public education campaign about the risks of fentanyl and the prevalence of the drug in the community, Ryan said.
Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg was quoted in Ryan’s press release as saying “drug traffickers are peddling extremely dangerous and deadly drugs” and that he will hold them accountable for deaths they cause.
Clegg said his office also will re-emphasize “the use of drug court and other forms of diversion to provide treatment and rehabilitation for persons who come into the criminal justice system with addiction problems.”