NKY Health Department warns of overdose after peak value that claims three lives

FLORENCE, Ky. — Five people overdosed in Boone County on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 49 in less than 30 days, according to the Northern Kentucky Health Department.

The increase led the health department to issue its second overdose alert this summer.

Three of the most recent overdoses, which occurred between July 15 and 16, were fatal.

In response to the rise in overdoses, the health department has recently set up pop-up harm reduction tents, like the one run by Seth Steele on Mall Road in Florence.

“We have harm reduction tools on the table here,” Steele said. “First and foremost, we have naloxone, a nasal spray that helps prevent opioid overdoses.”

During the two-hour session, several people approached the pop-up tent and grabbed fentanyl test strips, naloxone and other harm reduction tools that can save the lives of drug users by either avoiding taking the highly potent opiate fentanyl or reversing its effects in the event of an overdose.

“We know that one of the most effective ways to get people into treatment is to give them harm reduction tools,” Steele said. “Everyone has their own timeline when they use drugs, so the key is to keep them alive as long as possible.”

According to Jennifer Mooney, director of the health department, the drug supply in the region is changing, which is likely leading to the recent increase in overdoses in Boone County.

She said fentanyl is now found in a much wider variety of medications than before.

“The days of heroin being the only drug are long gone,” Mooney said. “I think anything is possible today. I would say now is not the time to experiment with drugs. Just assume that everything is fatal.”

The long-term solution to the region’s addiction problem requires a multi-pronged, collaborative approach involving the health sector, law enforcement agencies such as the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, politicians and many other agencies, Mooney said.

In the meantime, the department will work proactively to save lives.

Mooney said if people can’t make it to the pop-up distribution sites, they can request a free naloxone kit on the Department of Health’s website that will be mailed directly to their home.