The number of deaths involving opioids in Greene County dropped significantly between 2021 and 2022, but the crude rate of overdose in the region remains almost double the average of upstate New York, according to most recent data.
The Greene County Public Health Department reports that 11 Greene County residents died of opioid-related deaths in 2022. The number reflects a sharp decrease since the previous year, when there were 21 similar fatalities. But the overall trend is upward, with overdose volume increasing by 58% since 2019, according to the Columbia-Greene Addiction Coalition.
Most recent Coalition figures reveal that the county’s crude rate of overdose (25.5 per 100,000 people) almost doubles the average of upstate New York counties, where the overdose rate is 17.6/100,000. The most significant factor in the large number of overdoses is the presence of fentanyl in most drugs being sold on the streets.
Fentanyl is contributing to almost every overdose,” said Carl Quinn, program director of Greener Pathways Mobile Outreach, an organization that helps those battling substance use disorder. “It’s a given that fentanyl is going to be in your drug supply. Some people seek out fentanyl, but most people are not realizing that their supply has fentanyl in it.”
Veronica Silvas, an epidemiologist with the CDC Foundation, confirms Quinn’s conclusion.
“Heroin has been largely replaced by fentanyl...The drugs available are straight fentanyl,” Silvas said. “Fentanyl is in every different substance. If someone thinks they’re using cocaine or pills, it’s fentanyl.”
Also contributing to the high death rate of opioid overdoses in Greene is the county’s rural setting and its lack of inpatient drug treatment facilities. “Services are not right out your front door, so to speak,” Quinn said. “The closest inpatient rehabilitation centers are Rhinebeck, Kingston and Albany. People don’t want to go that far.”
Quinn said inpatient treatment is crucial to those most at risk — individuals who are homeless or lack community connections. Residential treatment provides a supportive and social setting where there is sometimes as many as 28 days to safely detox from a substance. The length of the stay and the services provided prevent recidivism.
A number of organizations have implemented multiple measures free of cost in order to combat opioid-related overdose. Twin County Recovery Services-the Greene Clinic, Greene County Family Planning and the Youth Clubhouse in Catskill all distribute fentanyl test strips. To test one’s supply, an individual can take a small sample, mix it with water and dip the strip, which will turn a different color if fentanyl is present. A person can have these strips delivered directly to any location by texting the word “test strips” to 77948. The Greene Clinic also delivers. The number is 518-943-2036.
The county health department at 411 Main Street in Catskill and the Greene Clinic also distribute Narcan, which reverses an opioid overdose. An individual may also obtain Narcan by texting NARCANKIT to 21000.
The county also provides overdose spike alerts when three overdoses occur within a 24 hour time-frame. To enroll for spike alerts go to columbiagreeneaddictioncoalition.org
“Most of the time it’s getting people to realize that there is a trusted resource to reach out to,” Quinn said. “To make that first step to say, ‘I want help’ is the hardest part.”