Idea Transcript
Heroin addiction keeping ahead of treatment options MARTINSBURG – It’s barely mid-morning, but lives are about to change.
Families won’t be able to predict it, officials won’t have any forewarning and even the heroin users will be taken by surprise when they actually overdose, although many may have been courting this disaster for years. But that’s only the beginning of the story, because the area’s heroin addiction problem, subsequent overdoses and even the resulting deaths also touch others as they go about life – even if they have never seen a syringe, much less used one to inject an opioid drug into a vein. And the fact that it’s “slim pickings,” as one first responder termed the situation, when it comes to local treatment facilities only makes things worse – much worse, officials agree. On this particular day, Berkeley County Council members are already in session and hearing from residents who have lost a family member to a heroin overdose, but are now organizing at the grassroots level to fight back. Just minutes after hearing about their plans for a heroin awareness walk, council president Doug Copenhaver gets a text with some bad news – there have been multiple overdoses in a little less than an hour. The timing is especially ironic, he said, because the overdoses were seemingly taking place as council members were encouraged by local residents’ determination to combat this problem. “I’m not the kind of person who ever gives up, but when it comes to drug addiction and especially what’s going on with heroin here, it can be kind of overwhelming. So I do like to hear from other people who also know there is a need, and they want to help make a difference,” he said. That particular glimmer of hope, however, was soon eclipsed by reality. “By the time I realized what was happening, the women had already left and the morning was suddenly a lot different than it started out,” Copenhaver said. HEROIN’S BROADENING, EVERY DAY IMPACT Some people may only hear about overdose calls on a police scanner, but Berkeley County Deputy Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Eddie Gochenour is much closer to these situations. As the county’s fire captain, he also works with career, paid staff who’ve been placed with volunteer fire departments. While Gochenour goes out on calls, career staff members are often summoned to help with cardiac arrest and they routinely talk about how things are going in the field. On that Thursday, there were three overdoses within about 40 minutes – most of them occurred in the northern part of the county, but “it’s certainly not an isolated problem,” Gochenour said. In the end, there were a total of seven overdoses that day, he said. Gochenour said he sent the text because it’s important for people to know what’s happening, especially since related problems including crimes like theft, domestic violence and even child neglect often increase along with drug abuse rates. “We’re not the heroin capital of the world, but we’re also definitely not Mayberry. I’m encouraged that someone is paying attention to this changing situation, and can help turn this around,” he said. Community members are increasingly interested in heroin addiction and local overdoses, according to an Eastern Panhandle Working Fires spokesman, who said their Facebook page routinely posts this kind of news. While having several in one day is unusual, it’s not uncommon to have more than one during an average week, he said, adding that many people also comment on the situation. “We know that heroin addiction is a big problem in itself, because a lot of people use it, but they never overdose or get caught doing it,” he said. “So there does tend to be a lot of discussion on the page when we post something about heroin, but especially when there are multiple overdoses in a short period of time like that day. And there was reaction that day when we posted those multiple overdoses,” he said. CITY RESPONDERS AREN’T IMMUNE EITHER Across town, Martinsburg Fire Department officials also know from professional experience what is happening in many local homes. It’s late in the afternoon, and all is quiet – at least for now, but things change without warning. “We provide both the fire and ambulance service within the city, so we average 300 EMS calls a month. We’ve actually seen an increase in our EMS calls over the last 10 years, and that pulls on the fire service side,” said chief Paul Bragg, adding that this increase impacts his department in several ways including manpower, wear-and-tear on vehicles and related medical supplies needed to provide this care. There’s also no guarantee that patients will pay for the calls, Bragg said. Certain calls typically require additional staffing, including overdose calls, said EMS coordinator David Weller. “For an overdose, or any kind of cardiac call, we send at least one additional paramedic. Generally we do know about the calls because they are either going to come in as a possible overdose, or at least an unconscious person,” he said. “We do that because if you have an overdose, they treat on scene and in the case of heroin, it is an opioid and knocks the respiratory system out. As a result, the person is not breathing and we have to have at least one or two people to help adjust the airway, while another person starts an IV and someone also needs to administer the medications,” Weller said. Going into these situations also isn’t easy for first responders who deal with overdoses on a regular basis, he said. He estimated that children are present in about half of the overdose calls, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. “A lot of them just seem to go about what they are doing, like our presence and what’s happening in terms of the drugs isn’t too much out of the ordinary. That really hits you,” he said. “It’s true you never know what you’re going to see, and since people look up so much on the Internet, we’ve seen several instances where patients have been doused with water because someone has read this helps in the case of an opioid overdose, but that’s not factual,” Weller said. “A lot of times, there is other drug paraphernalia laying around, so we have to be careful about that. Other times you can see that stuff has been cleaned up, but it is more important for us to focus on the patient – to determine why they are unconscious, why they are not breathing – because generally no one there is going to tell us what happened,” he said. Weller said a “large percentage” of patients wakes up and refuses to accept care, adding, “And most of the time if we transport them to the hospital, they sign out against medical advice. There definitely are a lot of issues on an overdose call.” THE PRESSURE’S ON EastRidge Health Systems President and CEO Paul Macom has some good news, because his agency has received a $300,000 grant to provide a men’s residential recovery program. “It’s actually a very structured, evidenced-based program, because there is some science behind it,” he said, explaining that a similar facility has been successfully operating in Huntington for about two years, while a couple more are planned for southern West Virginia. He said the program is not run by staff, but rather relies on mentors to help with the men, who live at the facility which also offers educational/vocational programs as well as some that are based on the 12-step approach to kicking addiction. “There’s also another component to this, because every day they have to do something called the trudge – ideally between a half mile to a mile – to another place where their classes are being held,” Macom said. For example, the Huntington site utilizes a nearby church. “So we do need this second location, and that’s another element in finding a building that is in this type of proximity. The trudge is a really important part of this program, primarily because nobody wants to do it – but in life, we all have to do things we don’t want to do. It helps with their commitment to the program, and to themselves,” he said. But it’s not all good news, because he’s having trouble finding a suitable building -a large warehouse, approximately 14,000 square feet large, in good condition, needing only some minor renovations (including the addition of a commercial kitchen and larger, communal bathrooms) – where this type of facility is welcome. So far, it’s not been possible to successfully satisfy these two major goals, Macom said. “We’ve been putting out the word, been to a number of meetings and talked to a number of people, so this is getting to be a little frustrating. We do want people to know we’re actively looking for a building that would be appropriate for this program – nothing fancy, but something open and with lots of space ,” he said. “It’s good that so many people are now talking about the heroin problem, the extent of this problem and how common it is, but when it comes to this project I’m just not getting much in the way of response. That’s sad because this program isn’t all we need in our area, but it is a start,” Macom said. It’s a voluntary program for these non-violent offenders, who primarily have struggled with substance abuse, he said. “Theoretically they can walk out at any time, but in reality very few of them do because they know this may be their last chance to get back to a normal life,” Macom said. MORE THAN THEY KNOW, THEY KNOW Just a week later, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College students have been tasked by professor Bill Lucht to think about the area’s heroin problem and begin coming up with some ideas about addressing it. At first, only a couple of them have much to say – except for one student who’s already lost four members of his high school’s graduating class to heroin overdoses, and also knows other people still struggling with its addiction. He’s clearly mad about the situation, but doesn’t think it will change anytime soon. After talking about local bad batches, when heroin is mixed with other, sometimes more toxic ingredients, a student said he can’t believe addicts vie to try and get it. Turns out, more than one student is familiar with this situation and the street term for it – hot needle. Another student quickly gets his classmates’ attention when he matter-of-factly begins to discuss how many people are dying from heroin overdoses – especially young adults. When questioned about where he gets his information, the students fall silent when he replies, “I work in a funeral home.” One student believes there is no helping some addicts, and that they will ultimately die from addiction. “It might not be pretty for a few years, but there is a way of thinking that says it would be better to simply let them go – to simply die out,” he said. That statement didn’t go unchallenged, however. “What about the babies who are born addicted to heroin? It’s not their fault. Their are a lot of innocent victims when it comes to a community having a big heroin problem. So where do we go from here?” he said. A local school teacher, who is also taking this class, agreed that children pay the ultimate price. “It’s clear some of our students have seen some pretty adult situations, and its just not fair,” she said, shaking her head as she spoke. -Staff writer Jenni Vincent can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 131.