Crime & Safety
Suspected Overdoses Drop Slightly In Cuyahoga County
A new report from the Ohio Department of Health says suspected overdoses sent less people to the emergency room in 2019 than previous years.
CLEVELAND — Suspected drug overdoses sent less people in Cuyahoga County to the emergency room in 2019 than in 2018 or 2017, according to new data from the Ohio Department of Health. Cuyahoga also did not lead the state in suspected drug overdoses at emergency rooms for the first time in three years.
Cuyahoga County saw 4,442 suspected overdoses in 2019, according to emergency department visits. That's down from 4,512 in 2018 and 6,533 in 2017. Franklin County (home to Columbus) had the most suspected overdoses treated in emergency rooms last year, leading the way with 4,521.
In terms of suspected overdose rate (which takes into account the population of a county), Cuyahoga and Franklin are actually middle-of-the-pack. Ross County had an overdose rate of 128 per 100,000 people, the highest overdose rate in Ohio.
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The data is based on the Ohio Department of Health's emergency department dashboard. Governor Mike DeWine said the dashboard is another tool for defusing the state's drug abuse crisis.
"Drug overdose death data is important in understanding and responding to this crisis, but there’s a lag in the data’s availability because it’s based on death certificates, which take time to complete and analyze,” said DeWine. “I am pleased that the Ohio Department of Health has launched a new publicly available web-based dashboard with more timely data about suspected drug overdoses treated in emergency departments."
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Health department officials said the dashboard will be updated monthly. The dashboard collected data from the third quarter of 2016 onward.
"Access to timely data is critical for communities to understand the impact of suspected drug overdoses seen in emergency departments and to identify emerging overdose trends.” said ODH Director Dr. Amy Acton. “This new dashboard provides an additional tool to assist communities with targeting and coordinating prevention efforts and resources."
The dashboard can be accessed on the Ohio Department of Health's website.
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