Overdose deaths involving opioids increased by 14% in New York from 2020 to 2021, the state Department of Health announced this week.

Excluding New York City, there were 2,671 opioid overdoses that resulted in death in 2021. Of that total, 47 were documented in Chautauqua County and 12 in Cattaraugus County.

For the first half of 2022 — according to up-to-date information released this week in a quarterly report — there were 22 fatal opioid overdoses in Chautauqua County, with nine reported in Cattaraugus County.

“The opioid epidemic continues to affect all of us, as Americans and New Yorkers,” said Dr. James McDonald, acting commissioner for the state Department of Health. “Deaths from overdose continue to increase nationally and locally and data can help inform and drive local solutions to this complex public health crisis.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids are a class of drugs that include heroin as well as powerful pain relievers such as oxycodone, morphine and fentanyl. When used, opioids can cause intense euphoria or a high that can lead to dependence and addiction.

As noted by the state Health Department, fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin and has contributed to an increase in opioid overdose deaths in recent years. Fentanyl is now involved in the majority of overdose deaths in New York state.

CDC information released last year found that overdose deaths involving opioids increased in the U.S. from an estimated 70,029 in 2020 to 80,816 in 2021. Overdose deaths from synthetic opioids also continued to increase in 2021 compared to 2020.

Key findings, comparing New York state totals for 2021 to 2020 data, include the following:

¯ 14% increase in overdose deaths involving opioids, with 4,766 deaths in 2021.

¯ 12.6% increase in outpatient emergency department visits due to opioid overdoses, with 10,430 visits in 2021.

¯ 30.2% increase in outpatient emergency department visits due to opioid overdoses other than heroin, including illicitly produced opioids such as fentanyl, with 5,137 visits in 2021.

¯ 11.8% increase in emergency medical services naloxone administration encounters, with 19,139 in 2021.

LOCAL IMPACT

In 2021, opioid overdoses resulted in 173 emergency department visits in Chautauqua County. For the first half of 2022, 95 local ER visits were reported to the state Health Department.

Of the overdoses recorded in 2021, 21 people required hospitalization in the county. Information was not yet available for hospitalizations last year as a result of opioid overdoses.

The state’s quarterly report also notes that naloxone, medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose, was administered 165 times by EMS and law enforcement personnel in 2021.

“Fentanyl, a powerful and deadly opioid, continues to be found in street drugs of all kinds and continues to cause overdose and death in our communities,” County Executive PJ Wendel said last month. “At the same time, numerous individuals and agencies throughout our county are working to combat addiction and reduce drug overdoses, and we are grateful for their life-saving efforts.”

Steve Kilburn, grant projects director with the Department of Mental Hygiene, noted that the county has many services and providers for individuals and families struggling with addiction.

Details and contact information for these resources can be found at CombatAddictionCHQ.com in addition to the county’s Crisis Hotline at 1-800-724-0461, which provides free confidential assistance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is staffed by behavioral health professionals.