January 27, 2016
For Immediate Release Contact: Cynthia Vargas
(847) 377-3188
cvargas@lakecountyil.gov
Lake County Opioid Initiative Police Naloxone Program Marks 50th Life Saved
The implementation of programs results in the reduction of opiate overdose deaths in Lake County.
(Lake County, IL January 27, 2016) Lake County Opioid Initiative
Police Naloxone Program saved its 50th life as a result of
Naloxone administration by law enforcement officials. The
save was conducted on behalf of Officer Matt Lyons of the Round Lake Park Police
Department on Saturday, January 23, 2016. The save marks his second save; in
addition, Officer Lyons was the first officer in Round Lake Park to have saved
a life while administering Naloxone to an overdose victim.
"50 lives saved and hundreds of families and friends have
been impacted. Change is occurring due to a small group of
individuals that came together with an idea. We have achieved our goals beyond
our expectations," said Chief George Filenko, Chief of the Round Lake Park
Police Department; Commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force and
Cofounder of the Lake County Opioid Initiative.
The Naloxone Police Program was implemented in November 2014. The Lake
County Health Department conducted “train-the –trainer” sessions at their
facility and also at the Mundelein Police Department. This allowed for an
efficient method of quickly training and equipping Lake County’s law
enforcement officers.
The program is a partnership between, nearly 40 Law
Enforcement agencies, the Lake County States Attorney's Office, the Lake
County Sheriff's Office, the Lake County Board, and the Lake County Health
Department.
This program has been made possible thanks to generous donations
from Kaleo Pharmaceuticals, Medline Industries, and an anonymous donor. A total of
50 lives have been saved
in just over a year in Lake County thanks to this program. The first life saved was by the Deerfield
Police Department on Christmas Day, 2014.
"It is fitting that this milestone save was achieved by the
department of one of the founding members of our Initiative. While I am
encouraged by, and proud of our progress, one life lost to this epidemic is one
too many. There are however, a lot of people that are alive today that would
not be if it weren’t for this wonderful program. I am also proud to be part of
a team that cares so deeply about the Lake County community," said Mike
Nerheim, Lake County State's Attorney and Cofounder of the Lake County Opioid
Initiative.
The Lake County Underage Drinking and Drug Prevention Task Force
has contributed to the reduction in drug overdose deaths in Lake
County. In 2007, two subcommittees of the Lake County Chiefs of
Police Association (LCCPA) and the Lake County After School Coalition
(LCASC) joined forces for a better use of resources and a more strategic
approach to this countywide issue. They created the Task Force. The mission of
the Task Force is ‘to provide leadership and resources to reduce and prevent
underage drinking and other youth substance abuse in Lake County’ and their
vision is ‘to have a county-wide environment where youth achieve their full
potential.’
The Task Force has expanded their prescription drug collection
boxes across Lake County in the last four years. There are a total
of 27 drug collection boxes located in police departments. Nearly 12,000
pounds of unwanted unused prescription drugs were collected and destroyed in
2015. The 12,000 pounds collected contained nearly 30,000 different kinds of doses of scheduled medication - which has an approximate street value of $750,000. In addition, Lake County has less than 5% of the population of the State of
Illinois, yet the LCUDDPTF collected close to 25% of the total amount of unused
prescription medication in the State.
The drop boxes are designed to significantly reduce the
number of outdated or unneeded prescription drugs in private residences.
Unfortunately, these same drugs have become the target of theft and misuse,
oftentimes by people who have access to the residence. This
has contributed to prescription drugs being the number one
substance of abuse for youth, and much of that supply is unwittingly coming
from the medicine cabinets of their parents, grandparents, and friends. More
and more adults recognize the need to remove these substances from their homes
and legally and safely turn them over to law enforcement for proper chain of
custody. Law enforcement takes control of and destroys drugs on a regular
basis as part of their regular operations.
”One of the biggest things we have seen with these boxes is the
reduction in terms of opioid related deaths. We lost 41 people in 2011 when
this disposal program was in its infancy. Since then as the number of boxes
grew and the weight collected increased, we have seen a steady decline in the
number of deaths to a low of 18 in 2015," said Bruce Johnson, CEO of
Nicasa Behavioral Health Services and Cofounder of the Lake County Opioid
Initiative.
Since the inception of these programs, Lake County
has significantly reduced their overdose death rates as a result
of prescription and heroin misuse and abuse. In 2009 there were 82
opioid-related overdose deaths, compared to 2015 resulting in 63 overdose
deaths. Without the implementation of the Naloxone program, Lake County would
have had a total of 103 opiate overdose related deaths.
To put these numbers in context, the 2014 U.S. average of opioid
related deaths is 13.2 deaths per 100,000 (for a total of 42,117 deaths). The
State of Illinois' overdose death average was at 12.2 per 100,000. In 2014,
Lake County was at 9.9. In 2015 with Naloxone Lake County’s death rate fell to
8.4. If the Naloxone program weren't in place, the death rate would have been 14.6
per 100,000 in 2015.
“Sadly, many people have died for us to get to this point. We owe
it to their memories and families to continue fighting for those struggling.
These programs are proof that when communities come together to do the right
thing, change can occur," said Chelsea Laliberte, Executive Director of
Live4Lali and Cofounder of the Lake County Opioid Initiatve. "As we’ve
always said, no one deserves to die from something as preventable and
reversible as a drug overdose. With continued awareness and progress, our hope
is that every person in Lake County will become aware of the laws, programs and
services supporting them."
For more information, please visit www.opioidinitiative.org or www.drugfreelakecounty.org
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Lake County State's Attorney's Office 18 N. County Street Waukegan, IL 60085 Phone: (847) 377-3000
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