Need for long term addiction treatment in Trumbull County
WARREN, Ohio - Beyond detox, mental health leaders in Trumbull County say the valley needs more long term treatment beds and medical professionals to help.
The opioid epidemic's deadly toll is still near record levels in Trumbull County.
A total of 117 drug overdose deaths were reported in 2021, with most cases involving fentanyl. The overall number came close to Trumbull's worst year on record, which was back in 2017 when the county reported 135 deadly overdoses.
"I really fear that our numbers continue to creep up," April Caraway said, executive director of the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board.
She says drug overdose numbers are looking higher right now compared to this time last year. An official number for 2022 fatal drug overdoses is not yet available.
"We need facilities that treat people in long term residential care, we nee more medication assisted treatment," Caraway said.
"The biggest problem is the stigma, we need families and we need the community to realize addiction is a disease."
Recovery clinics in Warren do offer longer term care, but they say each individual person's journey requires enough time to learn how to avoid a potential relapse.
Parkman Recovery Clinic in Warren has about 60 beds for people in need of addiction recovery treatment.
"We consistently stay pretty busy, which for us is one of the things that we're hopeful for, that we have people calling us to seek help and to seek treatment," Dan Pew said, community outreach director at Parkman Recovery Clinic.
Parkman Recovery Center, First Step Recovery and Travco Behavioral Health are within the same company, which overall have a total of 100 beds.
TRUMBULL COUNTY'S OPIOID COURT BATTLE
The federal court battle focused on asking pharmacies to pay up for their roles in fueling the epidemic resume this week in Cleveland.
In October, a federal jury found CVS, Walgreens and Walmart created a public nuisance in the counties for not stopping the flood of prescription pills through their locations in Trumbull and Lake counties. The accusations date back to 2006. Both counties are involved in the lawsuit that could set a precedent nationwide.
Testimony is expected to take place later this week.
Attorneys say 80 million opioid pills were dispensed in Trumbull County from 2012 to 2016, according to data they presented in court.
The legal team is asking for $1 billion for each county involved in the case.
