GENESEO, N.Y., June 7, 2023 – In response to the growing opioid public health crisis, New York State convened a Heroin and Opioid Task Force charged with developing a comprehensive plan to combat the epidemic. With input and expertise from across the state, the Task Force produced a report, and put forth a set of actionable recommendations that were passed by the New York State Legislature. The recommendations included a call for improving the use and reporting of data for responding to heroin and opioid abuse.
“The quarterly report produced by New York State gives us an in-depth view of how the opioid crisis is impacting communities throughout the state including those in Livingston County,” said Jennifer Rodriguez, the County’s Director of Public Health. “While the County has implemented numerous policies and initiatives and forged several partnerships focused on mental health, substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, medication disposal and more, there is still much to be done to help reduce the risks posed by opioids.”
Locally, Livingston County is seeing an overall reduction in overdose deaths related to opioid usage. Law enforcement agencies throughout the County have also played an integral role in the decrease in overdose deaths by administering naloxone when appropriate.
The quarterly report is available to the public through the New York State Department of Health’s website. It provides detailed information on overdose rates, hospitalizations, historical trends and more for each county in New York along with statewide statistics.
A major health concern throughout the country, opioid use has surged over the last two decades, leading to an increase in hospitalizations, addictions and overdose deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths involving opioids including prescription opioids, heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have increased by more than eight times since 1999. Overdoses involving opioids resulted in nearly 70,000 deaths in 2020 with 82 percent of those being caused by synthetic opioids. In all, over 932,000 people have died in the last 25 years from a drug overdose – 75 percent of which involved an opioid.
Learn more about the opioid crisis including prevention methods, treatment options and more by visiting the CDC’s official website. To learn more about various local programs and support options, visit the Livingston County Department of Health’s website or call (585) 243-7250.
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About Livingston County:
Founded in 1821, Livingston County, N.Y., is comprised of more than 61,000 residents in 17 towns located across 631 square miles of the Finger Lakes region.