The number of suspected opioid overdoses in Kitsap County fell during the second quarter of 2024, according to health district data, marking the first quarterly decline in two years.
There were 107 suspected overdoses during April, May and June; that is 24 fewer than the prior quarter. While that is still historically high, the results — which coincided with a national decline in overdose deaths — are among the first indications the millions being invested in combating the region's crisis may be working.
Yet it remains too early to say if this is the beginning of a trend. In a statement, the Kitsap Public Health District acknowledged the encouraging shift, but cautioned more data is needed before drawing definitive conclusions.
Data from the health district is preliminary and likely an undercount. The results only include instances where emergency medical services are called. Many overdoses go unreported or are reported months after they happen.
Recent expansions of harm reduction tools, like Naloxone – medication that can reverse opioid overdoses — may also mean fewer people need to call 911 in the event of an overdose.
Background: Kitsap saw record number of opioid deaths in 2023
“Be aware that the count fluctuates quarter to quarter,” the health district wrote . “As 2024 data is made available, more information will be added to determine if this downward trend continues.”
Kitsap has not seen a quarter-over-quarter decline in overdoses since the spring of 2022, when 51 people were reported to have overdosed. Over the following two years, overdoses across the county have skyrocketed as have death tolls.
Fatalities rose in each of the last five years and have nearly doubled since 2021. A record 65 people died from overdoses last year, according to preliminary data, up from 35 in 2021. Health officials attribute the surge largely to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin.
As a whole, Washington saw a 14% increase in overdoses deaths between April 2023 and April 2024, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control. That came even as deaths nationally declined 10% over that span.
The recent Kitsap health district report comes as local and state agencies are investing heavily in combating the opioid crisis through new programs, outreach campaigns and expansion of harm reduction tools. Earlier this year the Kitsap and its four cities allocated the first of the approximately $18.4 million it will receive in settlement funds over the next two decades from companies who fueled the opioid epidemic.
Kara Putnam, assistant fire chief with Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue, said the department has not seen any decline in opioid responses during the first two quarters of the year. But she noted the department has improved its collaboration and intervention strategies.
The department’s CARES Team has been a proactive approach to treating people with substance abuse, she said. The team gives first responders an internal referral service for residents in need of assistance outside of the emergency system. CKF also has improved partnerships with Kitsap Mental Health Services and the health district, Putnam said.
“Communication among agencies has improved significantly over the past few years,” she said.
Related: Hair salon offers sanctuary, naloxone for people touched by addiction
Providers at the West Sound Treatment Center, a Kitsap-based substance use treatment nonprofit, say they have heard anecdotally from clients that expanded access to naloxone has been beneficial.
The Salish Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization has partnered with the state Department of Health to rapidly expand access to naloxone in the county. The medication, sold under the brand name Narcan, is now available in dozens of take-and-go cabinets. The medication is also on all CKF vehicles, Putnam said.
“When we were at the Bremerton Therapeutic Community Court Resource Fair. I spoke with several people that expressed that having the Narcan (Naloxone) had just been a catalyst in saving their lives,” Cynthia Brady, a Recovery Counselor at WSTC, wrote in an email. “Three people who came through said they were so glad that it was easy to access.”
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Opioid overdoses declining in Kitsap, according to recent data
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