Berkeley County Drug Addiction Treatment Programs Slow Down Overdoses

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - April 30, 2018 - PRLog -- Drug addiction treatment programs in Martinsburg, West Virginia have assisted in lowering drug overdoses in Berkeley County in the first quarter of 2018.

West Virginia has the largest overdose rate in the country, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. And Berkeley County has been the leader of the opioid epidemic as they have tried to figure out their own substance use disorder issues.

A report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program indicated that Berkeley County ranked ninth of 55 in health outcomes.

There was a recent conference by Berkeley County that displayed how the drug overdoses numbers have decreased at the start of the quarterly year. Kevin Knowles, the Berkeley County Recovery Services Coordinator, led the conference and has been at the head of the fight against drugs.

"Berkeley County has a Berkeley County Recovery Resource Center," Knowles said. "We do not supply any treatment or services. We are a referral agency where we have been able to refer people to detoxes and treatments throughout the state of West Virginia."

The plan was not just to prevent drug overdoses among adults. The Berkeley County Resource Center also had the goal of preventing substance abuse among teenagers.

"We have started a prevention program throughout the county since the first [day] of the year," said Knowles. "We have been able to speak to over 550 high school students. We will be continuing to meet with them on a regular basis."

He stated that prevention is important in helping lower the overdose rate.

"We are putting together quick response teams," he said. "Those quick response teams will comprise of one pure recovery coach, someone from first response and possibly law enforcement individual. If someone has an overdose incident, this team will then get that information, revisit the individual between the 24 and 48 hour period."

https://www.drugaddictionnow.com/2018/04/24/berkeley-coun...