Overdose calls, deaths level off in Whatcom County. Here’s what local officials are doing
Whatcom County officials are holding their breath as both overdoses and overdose deaths are continuing to drop from the record highs of last year, and the health director outlined several recent steps that have been taken to slow the fentanyl epidemic.
That’s the encouraging information that Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health and Community Services Department, had to share in a progress report on Whatcom County’s Fentanyl Operations Plan.
“Trends are looking really good and we’re hearing from other jurisdictions around the state and on the West Coast that the trends are looking good as well. I would never be so foolish as to take credit for our efforts in the last four months as they relate to these trends, but we have put a lot of community effort into addressing this and so obviously we can’t correlate but it’s good news to share,” Lautenbach said during a special meeting of the Whatcom County Council, which was in session Tuesday in its dual role as the Health Board.
Emergency Department visits for overdoses of all kinds declined through the summer, and 911 calls for overdoses also fell but were rising in September, according to Health Department data.
Opioid overdoses hit a 2024 peak of 61 in May but then dropped steadily in June, July and August, when 10 were reported. Drug overdoses of all kinds have also been declining since a peak of 84 in May. Opioid overdoses have fallen to 58% of all overdoses from 66% in 2023.
Reported overdose deaths have fallen steadily this year, except for the spike in May, to a total of 71 this year, compared to the record 137 deaths in 2023.
“May was a really sad outlier but tracking from the year we are down from 2023. We are doing what we can to prevent unnecessary deaths from overdose,” Lautenbach said.
In a statement issued after Tuesday’s presentation, Lautenbach listed several recent steps that her department has taken since County Executive Satpal SIdhu issued an executive order April 10, signaling a unified effort to fight the fentanyl epidemic.
▪ The Health Department and other local agencies are providing free naloxone kits, including at special vending machines. Some 5,218 doses of naloxone have been distributed through various outreach programs, events and requests. This number doesn’t include doses provided through Whatcom County EMS or other trainings.
▪ A substance use disorder expert is being “embedded” in the Emergency Department at St. Joseph Medical Center, helping connect overdose patients with treatment and resources immediately.
▪ A temporary overdose response behavioral health specialist will follow up with patients after an overdose to connect them with services. Another specialist has been added to partner with the county’s Street Medicine program.
▪ Didgwalic Wellness Center, a Swinomish tribal facility in Skagit County, will be providing two mobile units to administer methadone and medications for opioid use disorder on Division Street near the crisis triage center. It could be operating as early as November. “This is a huge, huge benefit to our community,” Lautenbach said.
▪ Bellingham police and Whatcom County sheriff’s deputies have canine teams that are among Washington state’s first dogs trained to find fentanyl.
This story was originally published October 4, 2024 at 12:33 PM.
