On July 19, Clallam County Health and Human Services released new data on opioid overdoses in Clallam County. In the first half of 2016 there were 41 documented opioid overdoses and five of these resulted in death.

Almost three quarters of the overdoses were caused by heroin and the remainder were due to prescription pain medications.

The tracking of opioid overdoses started on Jan. 1, when Clallam County became the first county in Washington to mandate the reporting of fatal and non-fatal opioid overdoses by hospital emergency rooms and the county coroner.

“The emergency departments at Olympic Medical Center and Forks Community Hospital have played a critical role in getting this effort off the ground,” said Dr. Christopher Frank, Clallam County Health Officer.

Reporting covers overdoses due to all opioid-containing drugs whether obtained legally or illegally including heroin, methadone, hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (Percocet, OxyContin), fentanyl, buprenorphine and morphine.

The timely reporting of opioid overdoses allows intervention at the time many people are most susceptible to change.