The opioid crisis was identified as a Skagit County Public Health concern in 2015. The crisis hit our streets, medical practices, emergency services, law enforcement departments, schools, and most importantly, families. However, through collaborative efforts, the community is now better situated to respond to the crisis than it was five years ago—WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS.
- Over the last four years (January 2016-April 2020), we’ve distributed more than 2,081 Naloxone kits, the compound that can reverse the lethal effects of an opioid overdose.
- Families are learning about the risk of opioid prescriptions through outreach materials, billboards and community prevention coalition activities in Concrete, Sedro-Woolley and Mount Vernon.
- Those needing access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), the standard of care for those with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), now have multiple agencies ready to help them.
Skagit County Public Health, the Population Health Trust and the Opioid Workgroup Leadership Team (OWLT) have been working since 2016 to create strategies and actions that increase prevention, minimize overdose (OD) deaths, and expand care coordination and treatment, including MOUD.