"It's our local version of an opioid task force," said Tammy Nicholl.

The group uses a four-prong approach, dividing the groups into teams.

One team is prevention, another treatment and recovery. There's the medical team and the legal and advocacy team. Each team reports to the group on their successes and needs.

What they're doing seems to be working, the number of overdose deaths is going down. In 2016 the county registered 13 overdose deaths. In 2017 there were 8 in the county. The numbers are small, but the impact is great.

"We are trying to offer hope through treatment and prevention. If nothing else to let them know we're going to win this battle and that the future looks better," said Marshall.

A breakthrough for this community as they come together to tackle this crisis.

by Ruben Mees, Bellefontaine Examiner
Despite a record high 5 overdose deaths to start 2017, the year actually saw a decline in the total number of deaths — a positive sign that proactive measures being developed by the local opiate task force are working.

“What we do know is that we are seeing a drop from 2016 to 2017,” Tammy Nicholl, co-chair of the Coalition for Opiate Relief Efforts said at the group’s quarterly meeting Wednesday.

Locally, there were 8 overdose deaths in Logan County in 2017, although 4 additional Logan County residents were pronounced dead of drug overdoses outside Logan County, Nicholl said. Of those 12, 5 deaths were in January 2017.

2017 OVERDOSE DEATHS
2017 started out with an exceptionally high number of overdose deaths of Logan County residents, but there was only one death recorded in the past six months.

January 5
February 3
March 1
April 1
May 0
June 1
July 0
August 1
September 0
October 0
November 0
December 0

The total is down from 13 deaths in 2016, but that year’s total did not include out-of-county deaths, she told the coalition members.

Over the course of the year, local first responders administered 135 doses of the overdose reversal medication naloxone — a piece of data that was not adequately captured prior to 2017. Of the 135 total doses, some were administered as multiple doses on the same run, CORE co-chairman and pharmacist Steve Marshall noted.

“Narcan (a trade name for naloxone) only works a short period of time; so a lot of times when dealing with a lot stronger medications, it takes more to keep them breathing,” he explained.

Nearly all overdose cases involve the synthetic opioid fentanyl, Sheriff Randy Dodds noted, adding he was pleased to see the spike in deaths to start 2017 did not carry through to later months in the year.

“The way it started off, I thought we were in for it, but it tailed off,” the sheriff said. “We did learn we have to be a lot more careful how we handle drugs now. We mask up and wear gloves because the stuff out there now is so dangerous.”

In September, CORE will mark its official fourth birthday and the group discussed a possible dinner as it had in both September 2014 and 2016. Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley said he has been in contact with Sam Quiñones, the author of the acclaimed book Dreamland, to try to get him to speak at the event.

Steven White, regional director for Sen. Rob Portman’s office, attended and discussed federal funds available through the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act and the state-administered grants through the Cures Act.

“We want to make sure Logan County can get access to some of that money for some of its key projects,” White said. “One of the big things we have to do as a community is to figure out what grants we are going to go after and put our best foot forward.”

Four areas have already been identified, Logan County Family Court administrator and grant writer Annette Deao said. Among them are a health educator for the community, creating detox beds or an inpatient rehabilitation center, creating new peer support opportunities and increased funding for the Logan County Joint Drug Task Force.

Other CORE team members highlighted the following successes from 2017:
• An overdose response team was formed between law enforcement, social services and sober support peers to reach out to individuals who overdose and the group has made numerous contacts over the course of the year.
• Several new sober events and activities, including a recent New Year’s Eve party, four new weekly sober support meetings and Celebrate Recovery launched last year.
• Local physicians have increased their ability to prescribe medication-assisted treatment drugs, including both Suboxone and Vivitrol.
• Local doctors, including the Mary Rutan Emergency Department physicians, have continued to move along discussions about prescribing opiates for pain relief, while nearly all pharmacists are continuing to use the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System to track opioid prescriptions.
• Medication take-back programs, including stationary drop boxes at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and Russells Point Police Department, have netted more than a ton — 2,000 pounds — of unwanted medications since the program’s inception in 2010.
• A conversation has begun about the need for local detox beds and providing a better bridge to therapy for individuals who are beginning withdrawal from opiates and other addictive drugs.
• Educational efforts continue in the schools to steer youths away from drug and alcohol use.
• The Logan County Family Court has become the central drug testing service for Logan County programs and administered 5,812 drug screens in 2017 with 12 percent positive results compared to 17 percent the year prior.

A news crew from WSYX-TV in Columbus was also present at the meeting and the station is planning to air a segment on Logan County’s recovery efforts on Thursday, Jan. 18.

The next full meeting of the CORE coalition is set for 5 p.m. Thursday, April 11, while CORE team leaders meet at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15. Both meetings are at Union Station, 613 Hamilton St.

Ring in the New Year at a Community New Year's Eve Party this year! Logan County C.O.R.E. is hosting a family-friendly event complete with music, games, prizes, fun activities, food and refreshments at the Union Station Community Center in Bellefontaine from 8 p.m. to Midnight on Sunday, December 31st.

A Sober Support Group meeting will be held at 9 p.m.  Contact Us for more information.

Community C.O.R.E. has partnered with the Logan County Chamber of Commerce and 4 local businesses - NEX, BelleTech, Logan County Co-Op, AcuSport - on a grant for a Drug-Free Workforce Community Initiative. 

About the Initiative
(July 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017)
Funded by OhioMHAS, Working Partners® has begun a process of working with 18 counties applying the Working Partners® Drug-Free Workforce Community Initiative approach.

A Community Behavioral Health Board (e.g., ADAMH Board), along with a local chamber of commerce, will be keystones of an interdisciplinary stakeholder group established in each county, with a focus on increasing an employable, drug-free workforce in Ohio. Other members of each local stakeholder group will include the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation, Safety Councils, Job and Family Services/OhioMeansJobs, County Commissioners, Economic Development Organizations, local businesses and media outlets. The stakeholder group in each county will meet approximately 5 times through September and represent their unique perspective and needs as they relate to the goal.

There will be 4 principal objectives met through this Initiative within each community:
1. Collect accurate data about the drug abuse impact on the workplaces/workforce.
2. Establish an interdisciplinary stakeholder group with sustainability beyond this project.
3. Establish a nucleus of businesses that have been facilitated through intensive drug-free workplace (DFWP) management consultation to implement or refine their drug-free operations including second-chance policies.
4. Identify local provider(s) that can service their community businesses in an employer-friendly manner.

The Working Partners® Drug-Free Workforce Community Initiative (DFWCI) is a public-private partnership between the State of Ohio and Working Partners® to address the economic threat of substance abuse by employees and job seekers in our state.

We are doing this by:

• Bringing together key stakeholders and employers in 18 communities throughout the state to assess local challenges and resources and implement strategies to develop a job-ready workforce of drug-free individuals to serve employers’ needs now and in the future.
• Working with employers to equip them with education, technical assistance and tools needed to prevent and respond to workplace substance abuse in a productive, legally-sound and meaningful way.
• Providing regular communications to leadership (local, state and national) to keep them apprised of all substance abuse issues and legislation that affect the workplace.

Our goal is to build healthier, stronger, more productive workforces and workplaces based on local needs and, in turn, build a healthier, stronger, more economically-sound Ohio.

Key Message 1:
Increasing workforce readiness and drug-free employability

• The economic stability of our state and its available workforce is directly impacted by substance abuse.
• The stability of our state and its available workforce is directly impacted by substance abuse, and the most expedient and cost-efficient way to improve the health and employability of Ohio’s workforce is to tackle the issue on an environmental/community level.
• The Initiative gives communities a way to do just that by bringing together the organizations that have the biggest stake in making things better in the community.

Key Message 2:
Drug-free workplace is more than just drug testing
The activities of the Initiative encompass all elements of a drug-free workplace (DFWP) program. Please do not reference just one DFWP element without also including the rest of the elements. The 5 elements of a drug-free workplace program are

1. a written substance abuse policy and operations
2. employee awareness and education
3. supervisor training
4. an employee assistance plan of action
5. drug and alcohol testing (as is appropriate)

Key Message 3:
Businesses play a key role in substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery

• Prevention efforts have largely been focused on youth. Yet adults are consumers of alcohol and other drugs, many at high-risk levels. The majority of adults are employed and these adult -- parents, tax payers and voters -- can be accessed at their workplaces providing a critical environment perfect for prevention strategies.
• Substance abusing employees have a negative impact on businesses and can impact businesses’ bottom lines.
• Businesses have a financial incentive to keep their employees safe and productive – this is compromised by drug use.
• By helping businesses understand the role they can play in an employee’s life (and their family’s life) with a drug-free workplace program, businesses can have a significant impact on whether or not an employee uses or abuses alcohol and other drugs.
  • If an employee does develop a problem with alcohol or other drugs, businesses are in a unique position to encourage the employee to seek treatment for that problem.
  • Additionally, when the workplace is part of the solution, a person's successful recovery is more assured.

For more information about the Working Partners® Drug-Free Workforce Community Initiative, contact Karen Pierce or Dee Mason at Working Partners® -- 614.337.8200.

Got Drugs? Mary Rutan Hospital, Bellefontaine Police Department, and Community C.O.R.E. in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency, encourage all Logan County citizens to dispose of unused or expired prescription medication to reduce access to prescription drug misuse in our community. Drop off medications during our spring medication take back day, Saturday, April 29, 2017 from 11am-1pm at Mary Rutan Hospital. Dropping off medication is easy - pull up, pull through the canopy at the hospital, and dispose - you don't even have to get out of your vehicle. Pills, patches, and sharps will be accepted. Please place sharps in a covered container to reduce the risk of puncture. No inhalers or liquids will be accepted. For more information call 599-7005 or 465-1045.

Can't make it on the 29th? Use our permanent drug drop boxes for disposal year round. Drop boxes are located at the Logan County Sheriff's Office, 295 Co. Rd. 32 S., Bellefontaine, available 24/7/365 and Russel's Point Police Department, 433 Orchard Island Rd., Russell's Point, available Mon/Tues/Thurs/Friday 9am-4:30pm. ​

Without question, Talking With Your Children is extremely important in our efforts to protect our kids from alcohol and drugs.  But there are other things that we need to do as parents to be effectively involved in preventing alcohol and drug problems for our kids and in our families.

Before we review our Ten Tips for Parents, there are two important points to be aware of:

1. Why is there so much focus on keeping kids alcohol and drug free?

Recent scientific research has found that the longer an individual postpones the onset (first use) of alcohol, tobacco or other drug use, the less likely the individual is to develop an addiction or other lifelong problems, including depression.

2. The Power of Parents:  Believe it or not, parents are the most powerful influence on their kids when it comes to drugs.  Recent research has found that 2 out of 3 kids ages 13-17 say that losing their parents' respect is one of the main reasons they don't drink alcohol, smoke marijuana or use other drugs.

So then, as a parent, what can I do use my influence to encourage or promote prevention efforts with my children?

Here are Ten Tips for Parents:
1. Don’t Be Afraid to be the “Bad” Parent:  Sometimes, our fear of negative reaction from our kids keeps us from doing what is right.  When it comes to alcohol and drugs, taking a tough stand can help our children to say no….“my mom or my dad would kill me if I drank or used.”  Our decisions and our rules allow our child to use us as “the reason” for not using alcohol or drugs.

2. Connect With Your Child’s Friends:  Pay attention to who your child is hanging out with, who’s coming to the house and get to know them.  Encourage your child’s friends to come to your home, invite them for dinner and make them feel welcomed.  Encourage your child to invite friends over to the house.

3. Make Connections With Other Parents Too:  As you get to know your kids friends, take the opportunity to introduce yourself to his/her parents.  It’s a great way to build mutual support and share your rules about alcohol and drugs.  And, it will make it easier for you to call if your son/daughter is going to a party at their house to make sure that there will be responsible parental supervision.

4. Promote Healthy Activities:  Help your kids, and their friends, learn how to have fun, and fight off the dreaded “I’m bored.”  Physical games, activities and exercise are extremely important because of the positive physical and mental benefits.  Encourage kids to become engaged in other school and community activities such as music, sports, arts or a part-time job.  The more your children are active, the less time they have to get caught up in the pressure from peers to drink alcohol and use drugs.

5. Establish Clear Family Rules About Alcohol and Drugs:  Setting specific, clear rules is the foundation for parental efforts in prevention, some ideas:

Kids under 21 will not drink alcohol

Kids will not ride in a car with someone who has been drinking or using drugs

Older brothers and sisters will not encourage younger kids to drink or use drugs

Kids under 21 will not host parties at our home without parental supervision

Kids will not stay at a kid’s party where alcohol or drugs are present.

Consistent enforcement of the rules, with consequences, if needed is essential.  Without consequences the rules have no value and will not work.

6. Get Educated About Alcohol and Drugs:  You cannot rely on your own personal experiences or common sense to carry you through.  Your ability to provide family leadership in prevention requires you to be better educated.  As a start, visit Learn About Alcohol and Learn About Drugs.  And, as you learn, share what you are learning with your spouse and your kids.

7. Be a Role Model and Set a Positive Example:  Bottom line…. from a kid’s perspective, what you do is more important than what you say!  Research studies show that parents who drink alcohol or use drugs are more likely to have kids who drink or use.  If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation; if you use medication, use only as directed, and do not use illegal drugs.  If you host a party, always serve alternative non-alcoholic beverages and do not let anyone drink and drive.

8. Keep Track of Your Child’s Activities:  Asking questions, keeping track, checking in are all important.  Research has found that young people who are not regularly monitored by their parents are four times more likely to use alcohol or drugs.  Make the time to know what is happening in your child’s life – especially in families where both parents work outside of the home, life is busy but you must find time for your children – know what they are up to!

9. Keep Track of Alcohol and Prescription Drugs:  For kids, the most common source of alcohol and prescription drugs is parents.  Make sure that your home is not a source of alcohol or prescription drugs for your kids or their friends.

10. Get Help!:  If at any point you suspect that your child is having a problem with alcohol and/or drugs (What to Look For), get help.  Don’t wait.  You are not alone. (1)

(1)NCADD. Ten Tips for Prevention for Parents. Retrieved September 23, 2014 from website: https://ncadd.org/for-parents-overview/prevention-tips