Full Notification

-For Immediate Release-


Nash County Responds to Heroin Epidemic

May 31, 2016, Nashville, NC - Nash County has assembled a focus group to identify ways to mitigate the recent heroin/opioid epidemic. The growing group consists of 30 individuals from across multiple sectors who have begun meeting monthly to coordinate a focused plan to slow this public health crisis. The local heroin epidemic was first identified by the Nash County Human Services Consolidated Board when discussing a variety of public health issues at its regular February meeting. The Board’s Vice-Chairman, Dan Davis, brought up the matter and its negative effects on the community. “If this is not a public health crisis, then I don’t know what is.” Davis said. The full board and staff agreed and formed the new focus group currently led by Assistant County Manager, Rosemary Dorsey.

The epidemic is being measured with statistics gathered by Nash County EMS. The number of units responding to overdose calls has greatly increased in the past months to between 25 and 32 per month. Coastal Plains Hospital has seen a dramatic jump in patients admitted with heroin/opioid overdoses from 33 patients in 2013 to 632 patients in 2015.

Since its formation in February, the group has already provided doses of Narcan, a drug that blocks the effects of opioids from the brain, to all first responders in the county. They have also worked with the Town of Nashville to identify resources to assist with Project HOPE, which allows opioid users to drop off drugs and get help for their addiction. In addition, the group has arranged funding for a Transitional Care Social Worker at Coastal Plain Hospital to help patients navigate the health care system to get the treatment they need.

Next, the group is planning an educational outreach effort to target families, civic groups, patients, and others, helping them understand the heroin/opioid problem and how to access support and treatment. On June 7, 2016, the focus group has asked Eastpointe, the local agency that coordinates behavioral healthcare, to provide recovery messaging training to the group which will assist with recognizing how “messaging” can either harm or support people in recovery and how to use “messaging” to remove barriers to recovery. The group continues to grow and now has representatives from the Nash County Commissioners and administrative staff, social workers, public health administrators, law enforcement, medical professionals, Nash-UNC Health Care, and Coastal Plain hospital, support group leaders, NRMS and more.

To learn more about this effort, contact Rosemary Dorsey, Nash County Assistant Manager at [email protected]