Somerville Opioid Deaths on the Rise, Data Shows

SOMERVILLE, MA – Despite aggressive efforts to curb abuse, the opioid epidemic continues to plague the country. Bay Staters know this all too well – Massachusetts has been hit hard, in some communities more than others, and opioid-related deaths continue to rise.

On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) released updated 2015 and 2016 data on opioid-related overdose deaths in the state. The DPH last year began including fentanyl and its relationship to opioid-related deaths, and also emergency transportation related to overdoses and naloxone data.

Somerville has seen a sharp uptick in the number of opioid-related deaths in recent years. In 2016, 21 deaths were reported, and 20 were confirmed the year before. Even before that, the number of deaths had been on the rise. The city saw 15 deaths in 2014, 11 in 2013 and five in 2012.

Somerville's case is not the exception. In fact it mirrors an upward trend statewide.

There were 1,933 opioid-related overdose deaths across Massachusetts in 2016, a 16 percent increase from 2015. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is still waiting on additional cases from 2015 and 2016, and the report is updated quarterly.

"This enhanced level of data collection is a critical resource to help the administration, public safety officials and health care professionals understand the destructive impact of opioid-related overdoses in every corner of the Commonwealth," said Gov. Charlie Baker in a statement. "We will continue to monitor trends and respond through targeted prevention, treatment and recovery services to break the negative momentum of this crisis."