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In September 2015, more than 150 Lebanon County residents packed the multi-purpose room at Harrisburg Area Community College s Lebanon campus to express frustration and fear about a drug epidemic unlike any other. While other drug addictions seem remote to many middle-class, suburban families, the destruction wrought by heroin seemed to strike where it was least expected, sidetracking the otherwise promising futures of Lebanon County teenagers and young adults. The growing problem had become too large to ignore in July 2015, when six people died of overdoses. In response, the Lebanon Daily News sponsored the forum at HACC and Lebanon County convened a Heroin Task Force that includes medical professionals, law enforcement, government and school officials, and family members of addicts to address the crisis.
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One year later, the task force is sponsoring another community event at HACC, this time slated for 6:30 p.m. Sept.
21. In addition to providing information about heroin addiction, the task force will be handing out 40 kits containing the heroin antidote naloxone for family members of addicts. But have the task force s efforts made a dent in Lebanon County s opioid crisis? Those involved say there are some positive signs, but the battle to defeat the addiction epidemic is far from over.
If you aren’t sure how to help a loved one battling an opioid addiction, you are not alone. By Daniel Walmer
Reduction in overdoses?
Ask anyone if Lebanon County is over the worst of its drug crisis, and you re not likely to get a simple answer. The numbers paint a mostly positive picture, at least in relative terms.
There were 18 overdose deaths in Lebanon County in 2014 and 17 in 2015 most at least partially due to opioids. In contrast, there have been only five so far in 2016, said Jim Donmoyer, director of the Lebanon County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
Even one is too many, but five (this year) compared to the last two years is a definite decrease, said Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello, who helps to spearhead the heroin task force. Deaths are the most commonly cited figure, but they can be misleading because one bad batch of heroin could result in several fatalities, Donmoyer said. However, emergency room visits based on drug and alcohol use are also are also down from last year, averaging in the 40-50 range monthly this year.
Panelists, from left, David Arnold, Lebanon County district attorney; Dr. Marc Bonin, medical director, emergency department, WellSpan and Good Samaritan Hospital; Bryan Smith, executive director of First Aid and Safety Patrol; and Jim Donmoyer, director of the Lebanon County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, address a forum on heroin and drug abuse at Harrisburg Area Community College in Lebanon on Sept.
17, 2015.
(Photo: Michael K. Dakota, Lebanon Daily News)
Even in 2015, Lebanon County residents died at a lower rate than the state average. But when the Lebanon Daily News reported that as mildly positive news in August, it prompted a backlash of Facebook comments stressing the magnitude of the problem. Others who regularly interact with addicts cautioned against being overly optimistic, and Capello admitted there is still a lot of work to do.
The problem is still very much here, said Mandy Newmaster, assistant director of Pennsylvania Counseling Services Renaissance Crossroads location in Lebanon. Sally Barry, director of the Lebanon County Probation Department, said they ve seen individual success stories with people on probation overcoming their addiction.
But based on the numbers of positive blood tests people have received, improvement on a grand scale has been limited.
We still have a pretty significant heroin use problem here, she said. (Opioids) are still the number one drug of choice here for offenders.
Helping families cope
Newmaster and Donmoyer were both struck at the forum last fall by the extent to which loved ones of addicts seemed frustrated that they just didn t know where to turn.
It was alarming that that was being said, Donmoyer said. Since the inception of the task force, a lot of their efforts have been focused on educating the public about available resources. Those included a smaller community information night at the Lebanon Recovery Center in April that Newmaster said led to a spike in calls at PCS about available beds for addicts.
Loving an addict is incredibly hard, so they should seek out support for themselves.
Mandy Newmaster, Pennsylvania Counseling Services
Most importantly, Newmaster said, parents and loved ones need to know that they are not alone.
Loving an addict is incredibly hard, so they should seek out support for themselves, she said. And educate yourself. You have to know what you re dealing with. Addiction is no joke.
Pennsylvania Counseling Services has an open support group for loved ones of those suffering addiction, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday nights at its Renaissance facility at 618 Cumberland St. in Lebanon. Nar-Anon, a support organization for family members and friends of addicts, has a searchable meeting database on its website. One meeting is held at 7 p.m. Thursdays at St. John s United Church of Christ at 120 W. Market St., Jonestown.
Generally speaking, Newmaster encouraged people looking for help for a loved one suffering with addiction to start by contacting the Lebanon County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, which has knowledge of programs throughout the county and the state. The task force has more than 30 members, and subcommittees focused on four “pillars” – prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery, and law enforcement – have a total of about 60 people working on different aspects of the crisis, Capello said.
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“Everyone understands the importance of this,” she said. In addition to public outreach, the task force is planning prevention programs for schools, outreach efforts to neighborhood watch organizations, and ways to increase treatment options for addicts who commit crimes that they can access between when they are arrested and when go to trial or are sentenced, she said.
Saving lives with Narcan
One other positive sign, according to Donmoyer, is the increased use of naloxone by agencies in the county who may encounter people overdosing on heroin.
Bryan Smith, director of First Aid and Safety Patrol, holds a box of naloxone, the opioid overdose drug, on Tuesday, June 7, 2016.
(Photo: Jeremy Long, Lebanon Daily News)
The antidote, more commonly known by the brand name Narcan, helps alleviate symptoms of a heroin overdose, particularly the respiratory problems that often cause fatalities. In addition to his own office, Donmoyer has purchased naloxone kits for the Lebanon County Correctional Facility, Pennsylvania Counseling Services, TW Ponessa & Associates Counseling Services and the Lebanon County Probation Department. Sally Barry, director of the Lebanon County Probation Department, said they plan to finish a policy regarding the use of naloxone in the next few weeks and will then begin distributing the kits to eligible officers.
The Lebanon School District Board of Directors in January became Lebanon County s first district to approve the use of naloxone, and Superintendent Marianne Bartley confirmed that the district is storing it at the middle school and high school and has appropriate staff trained on administering it. It only cost Lebanon about $400 plus training costs, Bartley said at the time. Now, four of the county s five other districts are either carrying or actively considering carrying naloxone, with Palmyra the lone exception, according to Palmyra Superintendent Lisa Brown. In other districts:
- Cornwall-Lebanon adopted a policy for carrying it in February. The district now has naloxone and appropriate staff trained to administer it, according to spokeswoman Amy Wissinger.
- Elco adopted a policy on naloxone on May 9 and is currently working with the state to obtain the antidote, superintendent Dave Zuilkoski said.
- Northern Lebanon has requested doses of naloxone from the state but has not yet received them, according to superintendent Don Bell.
- Annville-Cleona s Board of Directors will be voting on approving a policy permitting the district to carry naloxone at its September 15 meeting, said board secretary Ann Naylor. If approved, administration will begin working out how to implement the policy.
The remedy is also carried by first responders and police departments. The Lebanon County District Attorney s office can provide it to police department by accessing a grant provided by the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.
According to District Attorney Dave Arnold, 11 departments have received naloxone through their office: Lebanon City, Cornwall, Palmyra, Annville, South Londonderry, South Lebanon, North Annville, North Cornwall, Cleona, North Lebanon and the Lebanon County Detective Bureau. They are in discussions with security at Harrisburg Area Community College in Lebanon about providing it to them as well. Other police departments may have separate arrangements to carry the antidote, and state police also carry it through a different arrangement, Arnold said.
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About the Heroin Task Force community event
What: An informational forum for community members about combating Lebanon County s heroin epidemic, planned by the Lebanon County Heroin Task Force. The event will include:
- The distribution of 40 free kits containing naloxone, the heroin antidote better known by the brand name Narcan, to Lebanon County residents over the age of 18. Residents planning to obtain naloxone must carry a photo ID. Training will also be available at the forum.
- Presentations by mental health, first aid and legal experts on the nature of addition, resources for addicts and loved ones, and Pennsylvania s Good Samaritan law.
- A review of task force efforts over the past year.
- Resource tables with representatives from Philhaven, Pennsylvania Counseling Services, TW Ponessa & Associates Counseling Services, the RASE Project, Pyramid Healthcare, and the Lebanon County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
- An opportunity for dialogue between experts and members of the public.
Where: Multi-purpose room at Harrisburg Area Community College s Lebanon campus, 735 Cumberland St., Lebanon.
When: 6:30 p.m. on September 21
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