Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Jon Collins, 612-919-5918
Sheriff’s
Office study uncovers one in five inmates have a history of opioid use or abuse
May 1, 2018 (MINNEAPOLIS)
– The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office released the results of a One-Day
Snapshot Study, completed in partnership with Hennepin Healthcare, showing that
one fifth of the inmates present in the Jail on December 6, 2017 self-reported
prior use or abuse of opioids, including prescription drugs and heroin.
During the One-Day Snapshot
Study, Jail medical staff surveyed each of the 851 inmates in the Jail on
December 6 to study prior opioid use and abuse histories, and overdose rates of
inmates.
The study shed important
insight into the opioid use and abuse histories of inmates.
- 20 percent (173) of the Jail inmates self-reported use or
abuse of opioids
- 64 percent (111) of the 173 inmates with a history of
opioid abuse had overdosed
- 95 percent (105) of the 111 inmates who overdosed had been
administered naloxone
- While 20 percent of the inmates self-reported use or abuse
of opioids, only two percent (18) out of the 851 inmates in the study reported
that they had received inpatient addiction treatment in the past
“This opioid crisis no longer
sits on our doorstep, it is already in our homes. Our family, friends,
neighbors, and colleagues are all being affected,” said Hennepin County Sheriff
Rich Stanek. “We are saving lives but it’s still not enough. Too many people
are overdosing and far too many people are dying.”
During the press conference to
announce the study results, Sheriff Stanek was joined by Hennepin County
Commissioner Jan Callison and Doctor Gavin Bart.
“More than just saving lives, we want to engage in efforts to keep people alive, and I think the Sheriff's Office is committed to addressing that. For opioid addiction, unlike so many other addictions, we have phenomenal tools to treat opioid addiction, there are very effective treatments for it and we need to make sure those treatments are available to anyone who needs it,” said Dr. Bart, Director of the Division of
Addiction Medicine at Hennepin Healthcare.
“The One-Day Snapshot Study of jail inmate opioid use is a tremendous example of the partnership between Hennepin Healthcare and the Sheriff’s Office,” said Commissioner Callison. “The study gives us a first-hand look not only at opioid use and how it intersects with the criminal justice system, but it also provides a stark vision of how deadly opioid use can be, how common it is for opioid users to overdose, and how important it is for the county to do what it can to raise awareness of naloxone and help ensure access to it.”
The One-Day Snapshot Study
seeks to inform the Sheriff’s Office, its criminal justice partners, and the
public about the occurrence of opioid and heroin use and overdoses, the current
public safety response, and areas that should see improvement.
Study results were collected
from self-reported inmate questionnaires conducted by Jail medical staff, and
confirmed against Hennepin County medical records and Jail data. All medical
records were accessed by Hennepin Healthcare staff, complying with all HIPAA
Privacy Rules.
A digital copy of the report
can be viewed here.
The Opioid Public
Safety Crisis
During 2017, Hennepin County
experienced 175 opioid-related deaths. This marks a new record high for the
county, surpassing 2016’s 153 opioid-related deaths, and resulting in a 65
percent increase since 2015.
According to 2016 data from
the National Center for Health Statistics, drug overdoses are the leading cause
of death for Americans under the age of 50. According to the 2015 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled
prescription drugs, and 70 percent of prescription drug abusers say that they obtained
their supply of prescription medications from friends and family.
- HCSO -
Look for more news on
the Hennepin County Sheriff's website at http://www.hennepinsheriff.org.
| 
