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SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs Police Department responded to three overdose calls for service situations in a two-day period during which officers deployed Narcan to combat the effects of any ingested narcotics that may contain fentanyl.
All individuals that were treated were able to be revived and taken for further care, if they so wished, at Saratoga Hospital.
During March alone the SSPD has responded to 10 calls for service in which overdoses were reported and action was taken by Patrol Officers.
Authorities caution there has been an increase in fentanyl related overdoses nationwide in which the drugs taken were not suspected to have fentanyl but did.
“These incidents continue to emphasize the need for an approach to combat this epidemic that has multiple agencies involved, taking a combined effort to minimize the effects of drug dependency and usage,” according to a statement released by city police March 27.
Meanwhile, countywide, on Feb. 7 officials unveiled a new “comprehensive, near real-time substance use surveillance dashboard,” that coordinates and reports on substance use related data within Saratoga County. Believed to be the first of its kind in use in upstate N.Y., county officials expressed hope the data the tool provides will aid in opioid and substance abuse education, prevention, treatment and response efforts.
“Nationally we see about 50,000 overdose deaths per year and three-quarters of those deaths involve the use of synthetic or man-made opioids, other than methadone,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Theodore Kusnierz said, during a press conference unveiling the dashboard. He added the county will be re-investing millions of dollars, including funds received via opioid settlements, to “mitigate the growing influence of drugs and addiction in our communities, through a variety of programs.”
With the Surveillance Dashboard, Saratoga County Department of Health epidemiologists leverage data from six primary sources that originate across multiple disciplines (law enforcement, health care, mental health, and public health) to provide a comprehensive picture of the burden of substance use in the county. The standardized approach allows for the timely identification of concerning patterns, such as a spike in a limited geographic area over a defined period of time.
According to the dashboard, countywide, drug-related overdoses in Saratoga County have steadily risen during the past five years.
• 2018: 449
• 2019: 467
• 2020: 487
• 2021: 584
• 2022: 671
• 2023: 148 YTD.
That dashboard may be viewed at: https://savealifeto.day/.
If you or someone you know needs help in combating addiction, contact Healing Springs Recovery, Saratoga Springs at www.sararecovery.org or 518-306-3048.
