Those in their 60s had the highest number of opioid-related overdoses during the first three months of 2017, according to new Snohomish County data.
The numbers were collected by Everett’s Providence Regional Medical Center. It was the first quarter the campus collected that type of data. The data shows 253 total overdoses. The Snohomish Health District said there were 245 different patients, showing most patients are not repeat patients and span different age groups.
That includes senior citizens.
The problem has gotten so bad, health and drug experts are trying to get the warning out to seniors at senior centers.
Health and local officials held a forum Tuesday night warning seniors about the dangers of opioids.
The panel of experts included Arlington’s police chief, the Arlington Community Resource Center, and the head of the Arlington Drug Awareness Coalition.
Todd Redd, clinical supervisor for the Stillaguamish Tribe, was also on Tuesday’s panel.
“Unfortunately I am too busy, because this problem’s huge,” said Redd in front of the crowd.
Redd said he’s routinely seen painkiller abuse lead to heroin abuse, because street drugs are cheaper than prescriptions.
“There is no age barrier,” added Redd.
Senior centers across the county are holding forums like Tuesday’s to warn against misusing prescriptions. Panelists also talked about making sure seniors use daily pill dispensers so they don’t lose track of prescriptions they are taking. Police talked about dropping off unused medication so pills don’t get into the hands of family members.
The Marysville and Arlington police departments act as unused prescription drop-off locations. The county recently approved more dropoff sites. They're supposed to be available this summer.
