Early data shows West Virginia’s overdose death rate is continuing to decline, following national trends.
West Virginia has led the nation in overdose death rates for a decade with a peak of 77 overdose deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. According to a 2023 report from the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS), the state saw 1,453 overdose deaths that year.
In September, the Department of Human Services (DoHS) Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) announced provisional data for the state showed a 28 percent decrease in overdose deaths.
On Wednesday afternoon they announced data from the first quarter of 2023 compared to data from the same period this year, shows a 34 percent decrease in overdose deaths.
This data is provisional, meaning these are not finalized figures for the year. However, state officials don’t expect the decrease to fall below 25 percent, even with pending autopsies.
“We’re proud of this progress, but this is not a victory lap. It’s a reminder of how far we’ve come and how much more we need to do,” said Christina Mullins, DoHS deputy secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. “Every life saved matters, and we will keep expanding prevention and treatment programs to ensure that the overdose death rate keeps dropping.”
Dr. Stephen Loyd, director of the DoHS ODCP, said the decline is a promising sign, but not a signal to let up.
“We are not backing off, we are doubling down,” Loyd said. “The fight to save lives continues. We’ve seen improvements, but our mission is far from complete. We are pushing forward, expanding access to naloxone, treatment, and other critical resources to drive this number down even further.”
In Wednesday’s press release, state officials attributed the decrease in overdose deaths, in part, to increased distribution of Naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medication. According to DoHS, it has distributed 72,437 naloxone kits so far in 2024.
DoHS said it has also supplied the naloxone for Save a Life Day, a pilot project that began in Kanawha and Putnam counties in 2020.
By 2021, the project expanded to 17 counties, and then all 55 West Virginia counties participated in 2022.
Last year, all 13 Appalachian states participated, hosting more than 300 events and distributing more than 45,000 naloxone doses in a single day.
Four years after the project’s two-county start, 2024’s Save A Life Day events were held in every state east of the Mississippi River, and a few beyond.
According to the Charleston non-profit group that started Save A Life Day, Solutions Oriented Addiction Response (SOAR), 30,000 naloxone doses were distributed in West Virginia this year. A national tally is still being counted.
DoHS wants West Virginians struggling with substance use disorder to reach out to HELP4WV, a 24/7 helpline offering immediate assistance, confidential support and resource referrals.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.