‘Our resources are limited’: State of Ohio launches new substance abuse dashboard

LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — The opioid epidemic is a nationwide disaster that has not spared Ohio in its wrath and Lorain County has been hit particularly laborious.

“We’re one of many scorching spot areas sadly the place we don’t need to be primary,” stated Michael Doud, the chief director of the Lorain County Psychological Well being, Dependancy and Restoration Companies Board.

Final 12 months Lorain County had no less than 790 non-fatal drug overdoses and 102 deadly overdoses, among the county’s knowledge is delayed by about three months, so numbers may finally be larger.

“It’s affecting the households, affecting the kids,” stated Doud. “It’s affecting a number of methods in the neighborhood and we want all of the sources.”

This multi-layered affect is why state leaders simply rolled out a brand new substance abuse dashboard, its knowledge goes way back to 2017.

“These dashboards actually present how essential it’s for us to have a complete and holistic strategy once we reply to dependancy,” stated Aimee Shadwick with Restoration Ohio.

The dashboard digests numbers compiled by a number of state businesses, it even exhibits kinds of medicine utilized in overdoses, and finally it is going to present the quantity of naloxone distributed within the county.

Shadwick stated native counties leaders might be educated on learn how to use the info to allow them to goal the correct areas and points.

The info might be useful for locations like Lorain County, the place thus far this 12 months, three individuals have already died from overdosing.

“Our sources are restricted,” Doud stated. “We’ve some hurt discount initiatives that we at the moment fund, it is going to permit us to make sure that we’re focusing on these hurt discount initiatives the place there’s a excessive want.”

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