Twin Counties battle opioid crisis to a draw

The governments of Columbia and Greene counties are long known for fighting tooth and nail against the opioid epidemic, taking a stand by any means necessary: education, awareness, law enforcement.

This is why the news coming out of Albany about the opioid crisis is so frustrating, yet hopeful that a corner might have been turned.

For the first time in a decade, the state experienced a nearly 16% drop in opioid overdose deaths between 2017 and 2018, from 2,170 to 1,824, according to data from the state Department of Health.

That sounds good, but those statistics are not reflected in the Twin Counties.

The state as a whole saw a decrease in overdose deaths, but Columbia and Greene counties haven’t experienced the same reduction, according to the health department’s data. Columbia County experienced six overdose deaths in 2018, and six so far this year. Greene County experienced 12 deaths in 2018 and 11 this year.

“Could I say Columbia and Greene County are improving? I think the numbers are stable,” said Carl Quinn, assistant program director at Twin County Recovery Services.

It’s accurate to say the number of opioid overdose deaths in the Twin Counties has not increased dramatically, but it’s also true to say the number has not decreased at all.

Columbia Memorial Health spokesman William Van Slyke said that despite the upbeat statewide data, “opioids remain a very big problem for many rural communities.”

“The death rate from opioid overdoses in Greene County in particular remains much higher than the state average,” he said in a statement. “So there is still a great deal of work to be done.”

Van Slyke is right to say that more has to be done.

The Twin Counties are stressing prevention, treatment and recovery services. Twin County Recovery Services is one such organization that benefited from grants, which funded boots-on-the ground field work including positions such as peer advocates, a mobile clinician, transportation coordinator and a mobile clinic. Columbia Memorial Health has invested in programs and physicians specialized to combat the crisis.

The “more” that Van Slyke speaks of has to include streamlining recovery services for Columbia and Greene county residents. Neither county has a rehabilitation center and Columbia County doesn’t have a detox center.

In the end, all we can say is that the Twin Counties have no choice but to keep fighting. We can hope that the state’s report can serve as a springboard to more action. The Twin Counties are not winning the battle, but it’s encouraging to note they aren’t losing it either.