ENG 1100 MOD 3 DB

www.statejournal.comi HEALTH CARE December 21-27,2020 • Page 8 Mental, addiction service needs likely to increase post,pandemic

by JoAnn Snoderly STAFF WRITER Deaths by Drug or Drug Class

Just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday, resi- dents across Ohio County received a Based on data available for analysis on: 12/6/2020stark warning through the county's emergency alert system. Select Jurisdiction Select specific drugs or drug classes"Multiple overdoses have occurred , (Multiple values) -West Virginiain Wheeling," the alert stated, before encouraging at-risk individuals to se- cure access to naloxone, an opioid over- Figure 2.12 Month-ending Provisional Number of Drug Overdose Deaths by Drug or Drug Class: West Virginia dose reversal medication.

Alerts like this one were initiated as 0 000 0 0a public health measure in response to 00

the drug epidemic that has gripped the 800 0000000000

000000 -00nation for years, particularly in West , Virginia.

The goal of the alerts is simple: To ~ 600 keep people alive when a bad batch or 8 more potent batch of opioids appears to j be on the streets, according to Lou Var- 61 400 go, director of Wheeling-Ohio Coun- ty Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency:

200Overdose deaths are increasing, both nationallyand in WestVirginia, accord- ing to provisional data through May re- 0leased Wednesday by the Centers for 1 1 $ 1 , f Disease Control and Prevention. Jan 2015 Jul 2015 Jan 2016 Jul 2016 Jan 2017 Ju12017 Jan 2018 Ju12018 Jan 2019 Ju12019 Jan 2020

Overdose deaths had reached a peak 12 Month-ending Period in the state in August 2017, with an es- timated 1,054 deaths that month. From Legend for Drug or Drug Class Reported Value there, there was a slow descent in the rate of deaths through September 2019, .... ." .0, '' 1-12*- -mr-e -70 3 0 Predicted Value when there were a predicted 859 deaths from overdoses, according to the CDC . Cocaine (T40.5) data, which is considered provisional

f'sya,*st:-mt;tes,Es<*·th *>us#.34.*=58. f'Z43 5}'as deaths are still under investigation. By May 2020, however, overdose

Centers for Disease Control and Preventiondeaths reached their highest level yet, with anestimated 1,090 overdose deaths Provisional CDC data shows increasing opioid overdoses. in the state, according to the provision- al data.

Although the provisional data so far |~ indicates a steep increase in deaths from April to May, the ascent in the number of deaths predates the pan- demic, with consistent increases be- ginning in October 2019.

Harrison County Community Cor- rections Director Gary Hamrick said overdose deaths are not necessarily the best measure of the extent of the drug d crisis facing the state and the nation. Overdose rates tend to ebb and flow based on the availability of opioids, which are far more likely than other substances to cause overdoses. .,..·cs':

For a period, methamphetamine was more readily available, but Ham- '=/ rick said he began to see opioid use in- crease again in his own county begin- ning sometime around December 2019.

"We've seen a large rise in meth, but then in the last several months, we've seen an increase in fentanyl and hero- in use," he said.

It is too soon to know definitively whether the pandemic has caused an uptick in substance misuse, but those who work in the addiction treatment -3..43 field have sounded the alarm as men- ."ABM' <24 tal health issues increase and access to services traditionally seen as a lifeline

4»'.for those in recovery has dwindled due to social distancing measures. -Ill.-I'llil'

The pandemic has created anxiety - and disconnectedness that most would - agree will breed or exacerbate sub- stance use disorders, said Dr. Patrick Marshalek, vice chair of in-patient clinical operations and psychiatrist treating addiction patients at WVU Medicine.

At the state level, officials are keep- ing close watch on the numbers. Submitted photo See ADDICTION, 24 WVU Medicine psychiatrist Dr. Patrick Marshalek demonstrates a telehealth visit.

~ pa> 24 www. statejournal.com December 21, 2020

ADDICTION (Continued from Page 8) 12 Month,ending Provisional Counts and

"We do have significant concerns in the state of West Virginia that Percent Change of Drug Overdose Deaths we're seeing similar patterns of in- creased substance use, sometimes resulting in overdose, that we're Based on data available for analysis on: 12/6/2020 seeing in other states," said Dn '_ " -- ---3.- ' »1- ----- - --°', »4Select Jurisdiction Matthew Christian- - West Virginia .

Figure la. 12 Month-ending Provisional Counts of Drug Overdose Deaths: West»Virginia ~~***j sen, director of the 0West Virginia Office ed

1,000 000of Drug Control Pol- 6/umull 00000000000 00 O Predicted Valueicy. "We know with If '<'7~me~~ 000000O0000000COVID-19 we've lost 11**~id-~ 21 ~ Reported Valuea lot of our normal ts=:==:1 / social connections, -~~:210 an# the social fab- __u~ 4 *-i sooric of our West Vir- Christiansen Eginia societies in 2 towns and cities has frayed, and that's really formed the framework for a lot of our recovery efforts that we've been really suc- cessful at establishing in the last - --- » » 1.**."."I//*".*"te> * . - - couple of years with the Office of Jan 2015 an 2016 » Jan 2017 ~~ Jan 2018 »'Jan 2019 Jan 2020 '45 DrUg Control Poliey." ' » 12 Month-ending Period

Significant strideshavebeenmade in the state to increase the in-patient Centers for Disease Control and Prevention options available for those seeking Provisional CDC data suggests record numbers of opioid deaths in May.recovery from addiction, according to Lou Ortenzio, executive director to treatment, according to Joe Klass, cial services systems aimed at not area of the state's response, includ-of the Clarksburg Mission. Monongalia County Health Depart- only treatment, but at prevention ing treatment, recovery, research,"While there's ment's threat preparedness coordi- and prolonged recovery, Marshalek reentry and prevention, he said.more treatment /Ill nator, who leads naloxone training said. New this year is a subcommitteeand detox beds, I in the county: This includes assistance in get- consisting of people in active recov-still think the need r- 1 "The goal of naloxone is to keep ting jobs and driver's licenses, ery who can help shape programsfor it still outstrips c,-e»r people alive so they have another housing programs, sober living fa- and procedures based on their ex-the availability of ~ 11 « chance of getting help or getting cilities, harm reduction programs, periential knowledge, he said.services," he said. . at-J~~ into recovery. If that's something I increased training and access to Another new subcommittee will"Those are good, b.i'.J6-**aigrqil have to do one time or five times, I'll naloxone for opioid overdose rever- focus on public education and stig-but once you leave ~ give people as many chances...as (I) sal and other broad-based program- ma to reduce misconceptions sur-a freatment center, Ortenzio can to try to get them into recovery," ming, he said. rounding substance use disorder,the care can be a lit- The pandemic has shown the im- Christiansen said.Klass said.tle sparse. What we .2 The shift to virtual treatment and portance of having robust public "One aspect that really preventscounted on is recovery meetings, 1

recovery services has both positives health infrastructure in place, and an effective substance use disorderStep meetings, even the non-12 Step support meetings, and all of those and negatives. that carries over to response to men- program in the state is the miscon-For individuals in rural areas tal health and substance use issues, ceptions and the barriers that wehave been abbreviated and deper- where the nearest group meeting according to Marshalek.sonalized. put up for our friends and neighbors

"Zoom does work - there's no might be 45 minutes away or for "It's not just regular health - getting into treatment and getting doubt about that. Technology is mothers of young children without waiting for someone and coming to appropriate treatment," he said. amazing, and we've learned to adapt reliable child care, for example, vir- you to get treatment and work on The most important thing will be to that, but it just isn't what folks tual sessions can make treatment making them get better - but look- channeling efforts to where they can really need. People need one-on-one and recovery meetings more acces- ing at it broadly from a public health be most effective, Christiansen said. contact, and it's justreally hard with sible, according to Marshalek. standpoint to make sure that there s "We don't have unlimited resourc- this winter surge (of COVID-19) that But for those without broadband a well-oiled machinery behind that, es, and we don't have the luxury of we have right now." access or technological savvy, the taking steps to not only prevent, but time or infinite money to be able to

Clinical outpatient treatment for barriers to services can become to survey and detect some of these expand, so we have to make target-substance use and mental health greater, he said. issues before they ripple out so far," ed interventions so that all the effort issues has also changed due to the As COVID-19 vaccine distribu- he said. and the energy we expend on those pandemic, with more offered virtu- tion gets underway, the state needs In the second year of West Vir- ally via telehealth platforms. to prepare for the wave of people ginia's three-year substance use re- interventions are getting the most

Naloxone training has continued who will likely need help with men- sponse plan, the state has outlined change and the most effect in reduc-

virtually as well. The opioid over~ tal health and substance use issues 51 new key performance indicators ing the problem as much as possi- do~e reversal agent is not a treat- expected to follow the pandemic. to measure the success of the re. ble," he said. ment for opioid use disorder but can That means not waiting until these sponse to the substance use CriSis, Staff Writer JoAnn Snoderly can be reached at keep people alive long enough to get individuals show up for treatment, Christiansen said. 304-626-1445, by email at [email protected]

but creating public health and so- These indicators touch on every or on Twitter at @JoAnnSnoderly.

coming more and more prevalent toNASA the facility, and he and his fellow en- (Continued from Page 20) gineers are focused on doing what

they can to prevent an invasion of Deadrick said that while many NASA systems, should that attempt

l 1 think of cybersecurity as dealing ever come. imi with routers and communication " While NASA systems historical-

channels and networks, NASA has ly have not been a primary target of to think about the process on an en- adversaries, we can't assume that

4 tirely different level, including how that's always going to be the case, so its ground stations and space sta- we have to ensure that our sys:ems tions could be compromised, affect. are safe, secure and resilient when ing the success of NASA missions, it comes to cybersecurity," Deadrick weather prediction and more. said.

"We're not just talking about a "Our program over the last couple system that sits in a building some- of years has continued to make an where that's connected to the inter~ investment in building up not only net," Deadrick said. "We're talking our cybersecurity capabilities, but

T about very complex systems that do the cybersecurity capabilities of the all of that plus controlling a space- agency and looking at it from a mis- craft and receiving data from a space- sion perspective," he said.

Photo courtesy of TMC Technologies craft and making decisions." Fairmont News Editor John Mark Shaver can be The STF-1, the first satellite developed in West Virginia, was launched in late 2018. Deadrick said cybersecurity is be- reached at 304-844-8485 orjshaver@theetcom.

Copyright of State Journal (WV) is the property of State Journal Corp. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.