Area's fatal overdose numbers plummet as partners see progress in fight against drugs

Yahoo

05-04-2025

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The number of fatal drug overdoses in Cambria County plummeted in 2024 to the lowest level in 21 years, officials said.
Twenty-four people died by accidental overdose in 2024 in Cambria County, down from 62 in 2023, according to the Cambria County Coroner's Office.
The 61% drop marks the third straight year of declining overdose numbers for a county whose per-capita overdose death rate once ranked among Pennsylvania's highest.
For local partners in a multi-pronged, decade-long push to combat drug use through education, prevention, treatment and enforcement, it's a sign that at least some of those efforts are taking hold.
'We can't leave our guard down, but this is a very positive sign,' Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees said.
It wasn't just the number of fatal overdoses that dropped last year. Overdose calls, including emergency aid requests, also fell sharply, Cambria County 911 officials said this week.
Just 41 reports were received in 2024, Department of Emergency Services Director Tom Davis said. By comparison, the county received 93 calls in 2023.
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Somerset County's fatal overdose numbers also fell in 2024. Thirteen people died of accidental overdoses, down from 17 the year before, Somerset County Coroner Cullen Swank said. That was the county's lowest annual figure since 2019.
'It's definitely good to see the numbers coming down,' said Swank.
Somerset County's 23% decline mirrored national trends.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pennsylvania's fatal overdose totals for the 12-month period ending in September 2024 showed a 28% decline. The nationwide decline over the same span was estimated at 24%.
So how did Cambria County, with its 61% decline, outpace all of them?
While it's too soon to assume that fewer people are using drugs, local leaders in the fight against addiction see evidence that more are embracing the opioid overdose-reversing medication Narcan; seeking treatment; or avoiding xylazine, a killer sedative that's immune to overdose-reversal meds.
Decade of efforts
The Cambria County Drug Coalition formed in 2016 at a point when Cambria County's per-capita overdose rate ranked second among Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
Partners in law enforcement, education, health, treatment and faith communities have since worked together to break the cycle through evidence-based prevention, education and support measures.
New programs were introduced in the region's schools to help students make better decisions and avoid falling into the trap of addiction, while Narcan spray was distributed to frontline responders across the county.
The Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Program works to connect struggling residents with treatment programs and counseling, with funding in place to take cost out of the equation.
'We've changed the way we approach treatment,' said Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Program Administrator Fred Oliveros, 'and we've gotten the life-saving measures such as Narcan out there, to give people a second chance and to get them into treatment that we now know works.'
Some of those efforts have been constantly evolving, Oliveros said.
A decade ago, stigma surrounded medication-assisted treatment options such as buprenorphine – not just among the public, but also among some in the treatment communities, he said. But time and studies have shown it's a vital path to recovery for many people working to quit illegal drugs, he added.
He pointed to a Journal of the American Medical Association study of nearly 41,000 people over a two-year period. It showed that people who got medication-assisted treatment, specifically buprenorphine and methadone, were 59% less likely to overdose over the year that followed compared to people who sought detoxification, behavioral health, the addiction-treatment drug Vivitrol or no treatment.
The Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Program's 'Single County Authority' funds served 556 clients in fiscal year 2023-24, up from 366 the year prior.
Much of that increase involved people receiving medication assistance through Alliance Medical Services and similar programs, or receiving no-cost buprenorphine or methadone through a Physicians and Pharmacy partnership with Martella's Pharmacy, data provided by Oliveros' office show.
Just 75 people combined were referred to medication-assisted treatment through the Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Program during the 2022-23 fiscal year. Through early March, just nine months of the current fiscal year, the total was at 157 people and counting, figures show.
Inpatient treatment programs, by comparison, are on pace to be lower or steady with 2023 figures.
Oliveros stressed that the county continues giving struggling substance users access to a menu of options, whichever the recipients feel will work best – whether it's medication, detox or other resources. But it's clearer than ever today that medication-assisted treatment, with support services, is saving lives, he said.
'We're hearing stories all of the time at community events, primarily from parents saying it has changed their son or daughter's life. They are holding a job again. Their lives are stabilizing,' he said.
What has made that easier is that more people in the workplace and at home recognize the benefit, he said.
'I think one of the biggest things is that more people are accepting medication-assisted treatment now,' Oliveros said.
Heroin, xylazine decline
A change in drug-use habits may also be a key part of the region's overdose decline.
In both Somerset and Cambria counties, a mix of 'uppers' – such as methamphetamine or cocaine – and fentanyl was once again a leading cause of fatal overdoses in 2024.
But 2024 marked the first year in nearly 20 years in which nobody died of an overdose involving heroin in Cambria County, statistics show.
And just eight cases involved people testing positive for drugs mixed with xylazine, a dangerous tranquilizer historically used on larger animals such as horses. By comparison, Cambria County had 20 xylazine-related deaths in 2023.
Just two people have died with the drug in their system since late May, according to Lees' office.
Xylazine's emergence in 2022 raised concerns and death counts. While it operates as a respiratory system depressant, like heroin, sprays such as Narcan don't reverse its effects because it isn't an opioid. Xylazine also can cause deadly open wounds, even for people who don't inject it.
Cambria County Detective Bill Hines, part of the task force of law enforcement officials who coordinate drug-buy investigations to get dealers off the street, said local users seem to be trying to avoid the drug.
Over the past year, county detectives have noticed more people shifting toward prescription pills and uppers such as cocaine and methamphetamine – much of which likely comes from Mexico, as compared to the do-it-yourself drug popularized 15 years ago in the AMC drama 'Breaking Bad.'
'It seems like people saw what (xylazine) does. They're getting more picky about what they buy,' Hines said.
But Hines stressed that different drugs don't mean safe ones. Across the nation, counterfeit pills continue flooding the market. Much like drugs such as cocaine and meth, they're typically cut with cheap fentanyl by profit-hungry distributors.
'It's like Russian roulette, because people who think they are getting one thing are actually getting xylazine or fentanyl. One dose might be the 'right amount' for them,' Hines said. 'The next day might be their last day, because the next pill could be 99% fentanyl.'
'Preventable deaths'
Local law enforcement officials have used Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, for nearly a decade to revive people feared to have suffered overdoses. Narcan use was also down in 2024, Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Program officials said.
Reports to the agency show 78 doses of the opioid overdose reversal spray were administered, saving 49 lives, staff said. There were 87 lives saved in 2023 by comparison.
To Cambria County Drug Coalition Interim Director Nichole Roussell, those are all positive signs, particularly when it's keeping people out of the obituaries. But it may not tell the whole story.
For years, people struggling with substance use disorder needed a prescription, or a first responder to arrive with Narcan, to keep them safe.
A recent state law change altered that. The Cambria County Drug Coalition and its partners, including Alliance Medical Services, now distribute the medication countywide in 'Compassionate Outreach for Recovery' bags.
Each bag contains Narcan, fentanyl test strips and safety supplies – as well as informational brochures alerting people about where to get help and the dangers of counterfeit pills.
Roussell said the coalition has handed out 12,000 bags over the past two years through local outreach.
'For a lot of people in active addition, they don't want to go somewhere and say, 'I need Narcan,' but they want to use it,' Roussell said. 'With the COR bags, we're getting it into their hands.'
Narcan buys people a second chance – and even if it doesn't stop someone from using drugs right away, Roussell said she hopes the experience, and the resources the 'COR bags' contain, will get people thinking. If nothing else, they may use less of their drug of choice when they reach for their next hit.
For groups such as the Drug Coalition, it's about educating the community that the substances cut into most drugs these days just happen to be the 'cheapest, strongest and most dangerous thing,' Roussell said.
'We can't forget that drugs on the street are changing yearly,' Lees added, stressing that local efforts to educate the public remain vital.
'We have to keep working, keep supporting each other, because drugs aren't going away,' he said.
And friends, siblings, sons and daughters' lives are at risk.
'These are preventable deaths,' Lees said. 'This affects everybody.'