Displaying items by tag: The Heroin Epidemic: Day 5

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says the state has already saved more than $200-thousand dollars thanks to a rebate deal with the drug company that makes the medication used to help reverse overdoses before they become fatal.

Local EMS, fire and police agencies get a rebate on Naloxone syringes; the drug is often refered to as "Narcan" and so far 82 agencies in the state have taken advantage of the program, DeWine says.

Akron police Friday began carrying doses of the life-saving medication in police cruisers for those times when police respond first to the scene, ahead of paramedics. Local hospitals are helping with the supply.

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(Ohio Attorney General) Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine sent a letter to members of law enforcement today reminding them that rebates are available for law enforcement agencies that carry naloxone. When given to a person overdosing on opioids such as heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, or a prescription opioid, naloxone can limit or stop the overdose by reversing the effects of the opioid on the brain.

In March, Attorney General DeWine announced that he renewed an agreement with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to allow law enforcement, fire departments, emergency medical services, and others to receive a $6 rebate for each Amphastar naloxone syringe purchased until March 2017.

During the first year of the rebate agreement, 82 Ohio agencies were reimbursed a total of more than $209,000 to offset the cost of the life-saving drug. "Heroin, fentanyl, and now carfentanil continue to take and risk the lives of many Ohioans every single day," Attorney General DeWine said in his letter. "For those of you who are not yet carrying naloxone, I strongly encourage you to do so. Naloxone is another tool to help ensure the safety of your community members."

According to a report released yesterday by the Ohio Department of Health, drug overdose deaths in Ohio increased from 2,531 in 2014 to 3,050 in 2015, including 1,155 fentanyl-related drug overdose deaths. Attorney General DeWine recently warned law enforcement about the risks faced by officers who field test potent opioids like fentanyl. Alerts sent out by the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) in June and July warned that law enforcement should collect drug evidence with caution. Because drug absorption can occur through mucus membranes or broken skin, BCI recommended that any suspected heroin or fentanyl not be field tested as it could contain potent synthetic opioids such as carfentanil.

"These drugs are so dangerous to anyone who encounters them that we've recently increased safety precautions for BCI forensic scientists who test these drugs in our state crime labs, and we also have naloxone on hand in case the drugs are accidentally ingested," said Attorney General DeWine. 

When it comes to the heroin epidemic, there are a number of different ways treatment organizations, law enforcement and city leaders are working to tackle the issue. The court system is no different.

"The only way to get these very dangerous and deadly drugs off the streets is to lock up the supplier," said Margaret Scott, deputy chief of the criminal division at the Summit County Prosecutor's Office.

So far this year, 11 people have been charged with manslaughter in connection with heroin overdose deaths in the area.

"These drug dealers, they know exactly what they're doing," said Scott. "They are selling these drugs to people who they know physically have an addiction, and have to have it and feel they have to have it, they're taking their money and they know that it's likely that they will die."

READ Akron Police Chief Adds New Heroin Unit

"Within the past three years, we started to see an increase in actually charging the trafficker with a homicide, and hopefully getting them locked up for a long enough time to keep the product off the streets."

Scott said there are also court programs in place to help connect those battling an addiction with local treatment centers.

It is day five of the Rubber City Radio Group’s spotlight on the heroin epidemic, and today, we look to what we as a community can do next. Summit County sheriff Steve Barry joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to inform what his office is doing to stop the heroin outbreak. Sheriff Barry says the county is putting teams together to gather as much information as possible to educate the public about opiates and the subsequent addiction. Why is it so bad in Akron? He believes our location nationally, as well as a lower economic state, are large factors. What can the people do? Barry urges the public to read the signs and call their local law enforcement agency if they come across suspicious activity. By doing so, officers can arrest the local traffickers, then working their way up to the suppliers.

As our week-long series on the heroin epidemic comes to an end, it's just the beginning for those who have high hopes to make a difference in the community.

Take for example Travis and Shelly Bornstein who lost their son two years ago. They want to open a treatment center on the same vacant lot in Akron where their son, Tyler, died from a heroin overdose.

"The person [Tyler] was with took him to a vacant lot at the corner of Arlington and Alfred and left him there to die," said Travis. "That was on Sept. 28 of 2014. Ever since then, our family has been trying to work to try to bring positive change to the heroin/opiate epidemic."

Shelly Bornstein and her sister, Laura Broyles, officially launched the non-profit program, Breaking Barriers - Hope is Alive, to raise awareness and money to build a new treatment center in the city.

"It's not going to be an easy solve," said Travis. "We cannot get into the blame game. We all have to come together as a community to work together to solve this."

Travis, the current president of Teamsters Local 24 in Akron, attended the union's international convention in Las Vegas in June with hopes of raising awareness about the new non-profit organization. It didn't take long for the donation pledges to roll in -- totaling around $1.4 million.

While it may seem like a lot of money, Travis say much more is needed to build a fully operational facility in the city.

"We can probably build a building, but we can't operate, fund and staff a state-of-the-art facility like we would like to have with $1.4 million."

Breaking Barriers continues to hold fundraisers and has launched an online crowdfunding page to raise money to carry out the goal of building a new treatment center in Akron, but Travis says it's also about building partnerships with city leaders and community members.

"A big part of our hope. A big part of our mission is to offer hope. We need to offer hope to our community."

Kim DeMassimo knows what it's like to be the family member of an addict. Her cocaine-addicted husband left her with next to nothing and a bank account with a negative balance. Now, she's trying to help other people dealing with the same struggle.

DeMassimo is involved with SOLACE Summit County, a group geared toward the families of addicts that meets in an informal setting to heal and learn. She says many family members don't know what to do when a member of their family is addicted. 

Among the long-term goals for DeMassimo is the creation of a one-stop hotline that could provide a wide range of information to the families of addicts. She formed a nonprofit, Spiritual Saturation, with the goal of becoming a clearinghouse for resources from help paying bills to treatment options to purchasing simples 

SOLACE meets twice a month on Saturdays at The Grand Exchange, 933 W. Exchange St., Akron. For more information, visit their Facebook page.

There are steps being taken to address some of the community concerns surrounding the heroin epidemic in Akron. The Akron Police Department has started training officers on using Narcan to help save the lives of those who may have overdosed.

"We want to do everything we can to save lives," said Akron Police Chief James Nice. "So the next step is to put in into the police cruisers. In case the cruiser does get there before EMS, we're given every opportunity to save a life."

Nice said it's not often that police officers arrive on scene of an overdose before EMS, but he still believes it's important to have officers equipped with the drug to offer help.

At this point, Nice said carrying Narcan does not come with a cost for the department. The first shipment of the supply will come from the hospitals and the Summit County Health Department. Nice said grants are expected to help pay for additional supplies when needed.

Nice expects Narcan to be in every police cruiser beginning this Friday.