Waltham sees a decrease in opioid fatalities in 2018

Jan. 09--Members of the Waltham Fire Department, Health Department, and Police Department are feeling encouraged after the rate of fatalities from opioid overdoses has declined to a single digit in the past year.

Each department credits the use of Naxolone--a generic form of Narcan--a nasal spray that can reverse an overdose, for driving the number down as well as more public awareness regarding the dangers of potent drugs.

"It's [Narcan or Naxolone] definitely saving lives," said Sgt. David DallaCosta of the WPD, by phone. "We're showing up to [scenes] where people are dead and you hit them with Narcan and they're reviving right away."

Waltham is no different than surrounding areas when it comes to trying to get ahead of the opioid crisis, says Meaghan Ritcey, certified addictions counselor for the Waltham Health Department. Despite the decrease in deaths, overdoses are still prevalent.

"I think we're in similar spots to our surrounding towns," she said. "We're pretty similar across the board. I think in terms of non-fatalities Narcan is huge."

In 2018, there were 39 calls--specifically for heroin overdoses--to the WPD and a total of three opioid fatalities, down from 11 fatalities in 2017 and 57 calls that year. The data for deaths is from the Waltham Health Department, which works in tandem with the WPD and WFD to track the information.

There were a total of 16 fatalities from opioid overdoses in 2016, the highest tally since 2012, according to state data. This past summer there was an uptick in calls regarding crystal meth, but they leveled out, Ritcey says.

Naxolone has been deployed by the Waltham Fire Department since April of 2014, however in recent years first responders of the WFD have carried it on them, reviving individuals on scene when timing matters most, without waiting for or needing the supply of Narcan and other resources found in an ambulance to do so.

The WFD has been using Naxolone that is supplied by Newton-Wellesley Hospital at no cost to the WFD.

"I believe our opioid issue has remained relatively steady over the past few years," said Lt. James Perry, EMS officer of the WFD in an email.

How it works

While there are 4mg nasal auto inhalers the WFD has used the 2mg per 2ml nasal spray. The WFD is authorized to carry Naxolone; the WPD does not carry it.

Narcan or Naxolone binds to opioid receptors and can reverse and block the effects of other opioids. With Naxolone deployed, a person's brain does not flood with dopamine, effectively reversing the overdose, according to the WFD.

The state's standing order on Narcan, implemented last year, authorizes pharmacists to allow patients, family members, friends or anyone who can help a person at risk of overdosing to obtain Narcan rescue kits without a prescription from a provider.

The cost of Narcan or Naxolone ranges from $0 to over $200 for a 2 mg nasal spray, and $100-$200 per dose for the 4 mg option, depending on a person's insurance.

To those who believe that Naxolone or Narcan is enabling addiction, Ritcey disagrees.

"Folks say if we make it people are going to keep using but the way I see it--just in working with folks for so long--for a lot of these folks, the pain they are going through is so great that if they didn't wake up, they didn't wake up," she said. "The fun of being high is no longer. Now it's just the chase of trying to stay well and not be sick so it sort of becomes like a torture."

You cannot count a person out, she says. Some eventually become clean and sober even after multiple overdoses.

"We can't intervene, we can't have any chance of hope for anybody when they're dead," Ritcey said. "Lots of folks that we've worked with have overdosed a number of times and then they've gotten it. That one time is the time that they were able to get clean and sober."

Now it is 'on the radar'

Despite the effectiveness of Naxolone, educating and creating a space for those affected by addiction and their families through monthly meetings has been helpful, Ritcey says.

The next meeting will be held on Feb. 14 with the location and further details to be determined in the coming weeks. Many of the people who have shown up lately have been seeking help with their grief, having lost a loved one due to an overdose.

Local departments are much more engaged in the issue than in years past, Ritcey says.

"What I've seen [since] 2002 [is] it's just become so much more widespread," she said. "It is affecting everyone which has been different from when I first came into the field. Now it's just so important that we get information out and educate folks as much as possible. Back in 2002 that [opioid awareness] was not really on the radar of law enforcement or local public health departments.

"I think it's been really great that municipalities have gotten very involved not only in educating but even intervention," she added.

The potency of the drugs and the local and national conversations around the danger of using are starting to be widely understood, the WPD's DallaCosta says.

"I think it's awareness more than anything," he said. "I would say it's more of an awareness out there of 'hey, this will kill you.' Would you go to a bar [and] every time you went to have a drink it might kill you? You wouldn't."

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