DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) – Delaware County Emergency Medical Services (DCEMS) was recently recognized on the national level for how it cares for those suffering from heart attacks or strokes.

“I always say anybody can take somebody to the hospital or anybody can show up to a house, pick somebody up and take them to the hospital, but how you treat them and what you do is really what makes the difference,” Jeff Fishel, Director of DCEMS, said.

The agency was recently recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA). It’s now been recognized by the AHA for 10 years in a row. It’s the eighth straight year the agency has been awarded the EMS Gold Achievement Award from the AHA’s Mission Lifeline Program, according to the county, AHA’s highest honor.

“For our staff, I like to think when they are receiving the call of chest pain or possible heart attack and somebody’s life is in their hands, they’re very comfortable, competent and confident in what they’re doing because they train so diligently on it,” Fishel said. 

Having chest pain can be scary, and it’s a common call DCEMS gets. The hope is always it’s not something serious like a heart attack or stroke. When it is, DCEMS said they’re ready.

“This is our bread and butter, cardiac care is what we do,” Captain Glen Keating said. “We come in every day and we handle cardiac care and we handle all kinds of other patient care.”

Fishel was quick to point out the work which led to the recognition is a team effort between his agency, the 911 dispatchers, local fire departments and hospitals.

“We’re really really proud of what our staff does,” he said. “We train really hard at this, we take this so so seriously, this is our job, and we want to make sure we provide the best possible care to the citizens and visitors of Delaware County.”

Delaware’s Behavioral Health Consortium approves opioid crisis abatement funding despite reports of Dover nonprofit Code Purple potentially misusing government funds.

After the State Auditor’s office flagged the Code Purple fraud concerns, all funding to the nonprofit was frozen and the Delaware Department of Justice began attempting to claw back $290,000 in distributed monies.

Attorney General Kathy Jennings also recommended freezing all grant awards until the distribution process could be evaluated by external contractor Social Contract — a decision she said her and Co-Chair of the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long were in agreement on.

Jennings said the reports will make recommendations on how to install better guardrails to help prevent future fraudulent incidents, expecting one to be released in August and one in September.

But Tuesday, the consortium approved $1.9 million for the first two phases, Phase 1 A and Phase 1 B, of bridge funding for existing businesses and nonprofits in good standing, despite the Attorney General’s call for a freeze.

During Thursday’s Behavioral Health Resources Committee meeting, Executive Director of Delaware’s Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission (POSDC) Susan Holloway noted the third phase of the grant cycle, Phase 1 C, likely won’t happen until after the Social Contract reports are released.

“Phase 1 C, we do not have a date set yet – we haven’t had a date. I assume – it’s obviously up to the commission – that won’t happen until sometime later in the fall. And out of the $15 million, since $1.9 [million] was approved for bridge funding, the balance of approximately $13 million will be used as the budget for phase 1 C,” Holloway said.

She also remarked statewide fatal overdoses have largely been decreasing since September, which is when the settlement money began entering the community, and 2023 marked the first reduction of the aggregate number of fatal overdoses in Delaware in 10 years.

Although there has been a 1.8% decrease overall, she noted there has been a 147% increase in fatal overdoses among Black and Brown communities.

POSDC could also lose $45 million originally slated to help fund opioid treatment and prevention in Delaware following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Jennings announced a tentative settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family in 2022 that was expected to bring the state close to $50 million to help abate the opioid crisis.

In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the bankruptcy court did not have the authority to release the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, from legal claims made by opioid victims.

In the original settlement, the Sackler family had agreed to pay $6 billion that could be used to settle opioid-related claims, but only in return for a complete release from any liability in future cases.

The new ruling means settlement negotiations will restart while the separate Purdue Pharma bankruptcy proceedings continue, which Deputy Attorney General Jason Staib says could jeopardize Delaware’s portion of the funding.

“As of today, the $45 million that Delaware was slated to get under the prior settlement that was baked into the Purdue plan is in limbo,” he said.

A statement issued by members of the Sackler family said they “remain hopeful about reaching a resolution that provides substantial resources to help combat a complex public health crisis.”