Norwich has the most opioid-related deaths in New London County. What's being done?

Norwich has seen the most opioid-related overdose deaths in New London County since 2015, in a county with the fourth-highest number of such deaths in the state.

Both the county’s health districts are in the top ten for overdose deaths for that time period, with 349 in the Uncas Health District’s area, and 329 in Ledge Light Health District’s area, according to data from the Connecticut Department of Health.

In New London County, Norwich led with 185 deaths, while New London had 142 and Groton had 67.

"No matter how much you do, there is a need to do more to see a decrease in the numbers," said Uncas Health District Director of Health Patrick McCormack, of prevention efforts.

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The biggest concern with opioid overdose deaths is how many are caused by drugs tainted with fentanyl. Just this year within the Uncas Health District's towns - the northern half of New London County - there were 47 unintentional or undetermined overdose deaths, with 41 involving fentanyl, said Director of Health Patrick McCormack.

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"Street drugs are absolutely risky, and there's no way to necessarily know if they contain fentanyl," McCormack said.

However, it's important realize that each death isn't a data point, but an impact on families, service providers, and the community, McCormack said.

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Norwich is also one of the communities awaiting payment from the state's $26 million suit against pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and Amerisource Bergen and manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.

The companies made money on prescription opioids that are thought to have contributed to the opioid crisis. From that settlement Norwich is expected to receive $18,000 for 18 years. An introduced city ordinance from the City Council's Nov. 21 meeting aims to use those funds to help with addiction treatment and prevention. A public hearing on the topic will be at the Dec. 19 meeting.

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On the response side of things, McCormack said there are plenty of resources available, including needle exchanges and services to help the families affected by overdoses, plus counseling for people who survive their overdoses. While New London County's numbers reflect a need, opioid addiction isn't a problem unique to New London County.

As Norwich is the city that has seen the most deaths from opioids in New London County since 2015, new funding could expand programs that help prevent opioid addiction throughout the county.

Preventing drug addiction among Connecticut teens

In October, the Governor’s Prevention Partnership was awarded $739,322 in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Justice Mentoring for Youth Affected by Opioid and Other Drug Misuse program, specifically for New London County. This is expected to support prevention programs meant to target teenagers in Norwich, New London, and Groton.

While the problem isn’t specific to teenagers, it’s important to reach youth who feel the impact of family members or others abusing the drug and risk picking up the habit later in life, said Deborah Lake, director of program planning and implementation for the Governor’s Prevention Partnership.

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“The county is disproportionately impacted by opioid use overall,” she said. “It’s not so much teenagers that are using opioids; it’s the community use.”

The funds approved for the program would bolster school and community-based programs, building relationships with the school districts, health districts, and others. It would target 200 high school students and 200 parents and guardians, along with wider outreach, according to a release from the office of U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, who supported this grant application.

Due to the parent and teenager involvement, Lake calls it a “two-pronged approach." The youths learn refusal skills, and how to manage pain from sports injuries without taking opioids inappropriately, while parents learn how to have tough conversations and show a positive influence, as the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence says children are 50% less likely to use drugs later if a parent told them it was bad, Lake said.

Building on existing prevention efforts

One partner organization in Norwich is Youth, Family and Recreation Services. Director Erin Haggan stated in an email that she’s excited to collaborate with the Prevention Partnership on this effort, as it builds on to a similar program Norwich is already doing, teaching youth to resist drugs, and parents to spot the signs.

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“We already do a lot of prevention efforts through our Drug Free Communities grant, and we have found them to be very effective," she stated in the email.

It’s important that New London County got these funds, as funding for these types of programs will often go to Hartford and New Haven counties instead, which have larger populations, Lake said.

Beyond this program, there are other measure that need to be taken, from co-operating with law enforcement and stopping the flow of these drugs, to providing support for addicts and their families, McCormack said.