ODs RISING: Sudden spike in first half of December!

The statistics and graphs in this report were prepared by Officer Eric Drifmeyer of the Barnstable Police Department. It’s important to note that Hyannis News added enhancements and wording to the graphs to further illustrate the statistics. For example, in the above graph, HN added the enlarged blue arrow to further illustrate that in just the first 16 days of December overdoses have more than doubled compared to any of the previous months thus far in 2014. HN also added bolder lettering and wording to the graphs… but the statistics are exactly as they were received from initial report.

Initial impressions of the statistics were that the numbers seemed lower than expected compared to anecdotal observations by Hyannis News and others. There are several explanations for this. First of all, these numbers represent confirmed heroin overdoses as tabulated in police records. In the past year, the BPD has been making improvements and advancements in the tabulation of actual overdoses. When a police officer responds to a likely overdose, it’s not always clear what caused the individual to loose consciousness or require emergency medical services. Also, patients may or may not be forthcoming as to what caused them to require first aid from police or rescue. Their are other factors that may skew the actual numbers. One being the confidentiality laws protecting patients and why they arrived at CCH. Also, a number of overdoses go unreported due to patients being taken to CCH without assistance from police or rescue. There are other reasons for the under-reporting of heroin overdoses, but overall, the Barnstable Police have made impressive efforts which allow us to get a clearer picture of the trends related to heroin specific overdoses within the Town of Barnstable.

The most troubling trend is the sudden in spike in heroin overdoses during the first 16 days of December.

The second statistic which stands out is that roughly twice as many of the reported heroin overdose patients were male.

The third statistic that jumps off the page is that over 94 percent of overdoses thus far in 2014 involved white patients.

The Barnstable Police should be commended for giving a clearer look as to who is overdosing here in Barnstable. It would be interesting to learn more details about such things as location and other demographical details.

It’s likely these efforts to document responses by the Barnstable Police related to the current heroin epidemic will prove to be an invaluable resource as leaders consider solutions.

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