State public health officials on Monday confirmed 1,379 unintentional or undetermined opioid-related deaths in 2015, and said the opioid death rate over the first three months of 2016 was comparable to the first quarter of 2015.
The data released Monday included a breakdown of opioid-related overdose deaths by city and town. Martha’s Vineyard accounted for five confirmed deaths in 2014 and five in 2015. The report notes that the data is only preliminary, and cases are still being confirmed by the office of the Medical Examiner.
Law enforcement officials and EMTs on the front lines of the Island’s opioid crisis know that the numbers are higher than what has been reported, but they are not in a position to officially confirm a cause of death. Yet more often than not, the evidence — pill bottles, needles, and assorted drug paraphernalia found next to a dead body — suggests one cause.
In the same report, the state Department of Public Health (DPH) estimated that emergency medical service providers administered naloxone (also known as Narcan), a medication used to block the effects of opioids, 12,982 times in 2015. In effect, nine times the number of people who died of an overdose across Massachusetts may have been pulled back from the brink of death.
In a story published March 23 (“Narcan available on Martha’s Vineyard without a prescription”), Tisbury EMS director Tracey Jones said in 2014 Tisbury paramedics responded to seven overdose calls and used Narcan once. In 2015, the number had doubled to 14 overdose calls. Narcan was used in seven.
Tri-Town EMS Chief Ben Retmier said his department responded to six overdose calls last year, a doubling of 2014 numbers. The point is that but for quick action by public safety officials, Narcan, and luck — some people just have stronger constitutions — the number of overdose deaths attributed to the Island in 2015 might be double or triple the official figure.
The state statistics are numbing, but they do not tell the whole story.
On what scale do we measure the pain and anguish of family members struggling day to day, week to week, to pull a loved one back from the brink?
Most obituaries only hint at the struggle and pain. When Asa French — “a funny, charming, and well-liked young man” — died at the age of 30 on April 14, his family used a description posted by a friend on social media to speak honestly about his loss from drugs: “The Island has lost a good boy … a boy who grew up like so many of our kids, playing hockey, playing baseball, shooting hoops, playing golf …. from a nice family … supportive, loving parents, and a brother who loved him …. and so many of our kids who were proud to call him a friend … his group of buddies are all good kids, and their hearts are heavy. So many tried to help … unfortunately addiction took over his life, and although many tried, no one could lift him out of it.”
A good kid whom so many tried to help, but who was lost to the grip of addiction. That description could fit so many young people.
This week, reporter Barry Stringfellow describes Christine Todd’s public cry for help in her battle to save her daughter from the grip of opioid addiction. Desperate, she took to social media to raise money to send her daughter to a residential treatment center. The response was immediate and significant. As they do so often, Islanders responded emotionally, quickly, and generously.
But reacting to individual appeals is not a model that can be sustained. Ms. Todd, an elected official, is well-known. If the next appeal comes from someone less able to make his or her case, how will it be received? And the overarching question remains: How can the Vineyard community best use its resources — and tap into the generosity of Islanders — to respond to this scourge of drug abuse?
There are no easy answers. What can law enforcement, educators, and social service professionals say or do to pry individuals from the grip of their opioid-induced haze, when many of these same individuals have repeatedly spurned the entreaties of the most loving and committed family members and friends? Do we need more incarceration? Treatment? Ultimately, it is up to the individual.
We cannot give up, but winning this battle will not be easy. And it will require a coordinated, regional approach.
