At Healing Cortland, we have a pretty straight-forward goal – reduce the number of opioid-related overdoses in Cortland County by 40% over the next three years. While that goal is clear, the way in which we and the broader community get there involves a myriad of prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies.

One of the first steps towards greater awareness and improved planning is conducting a Needs Assessment that analyzes trends in opioid-related overdoses, naloxone distribution, and treatment activities. For the last year, Healing Cortland staff have been working with our project partners and other Cortland County organizations to collect archival information and establish data sharing arrangements that promote transparency and better serve the community. The assessment highlights a number of trends, accomplishments, and data gaps – such as:

• Fatal opioid-related overdoses have fluctuated over the last decade, but total opioid-related
  overdoses (both fatal and nonfatal) have been on the rise since 2017.
• The presence of fentanyl in overdose deaths has risen sharply in the past few years.
• Community organizations, led by Family and Children’s Counseling Services and the Cortland County Health Department, distributed more than 300 naloxone kits in 2020.

For more information, feel free to explore the full Needs Assessment. If you have any questions or want to inquire about a presentation, please contact Sara, our Project Director or Travis, our Data Coordinator.In addition, be on the lookout for upcoming Strategy Reports that examine select issues in more detail and our data dashboards that provide an interactive way to visualize our findings.