CleanSlate Blog

Last year Ohio witnessed the first decline in drug-related fatalities since 2009. Fatal drug overdoses decreased more than 22% across the state. Unfortunately, Franklin County did not experience the same decline. The county totaled 476 drug deaths in 2018 – the largest death toll in the state and a 10% increase from the year prior. Deadly surges continue to occur:

Addiction is affecting people across the country. Rural areas in particular are struggling with the increase of substance use disorder cases because access to treatment options is typically scarce.

Cape Cod residents now have expanded addiction treatment options. CleanSlate recently acquired three new centers in Hyannis, Falmouth and Wareham, Massachusetts, from Hyannis Family Medical Care, which will continue providing primary care services in Mashpee as Mashpee Family Medicine. The centers recently reopened under the CleanSlate name and retain some of the staff previously employed by Hyannis Family Medical Care. This brings the total number of CleanSlate locations in Massachusetts to 18, impacting close to 6,000 lives monthly.

In 2017, Philadelphia had the highest overall fatal overdose rate in Pennsylvania. In 2018, they had the second-highest rate. But the statistics aren’t all negative: last year Philadelphia County was among 41 counties that experienced a decrease in overdoses. The decrease was small but positive. Twenty-three counties reported increases in deaths and three remained the same.

Ohio’s leading cause of injury-related death is accidental drug overdose. The state has experienced a nearly 800% increase in drug fatalities since 2000, driven by heroin and fentanyl abuse.

In 2000, Ohio reported 411 fatal, unintentional drug overdoses. By 2017, that number grew to 4,854 deaths: a 1,081% increase.

Wisconsin is no stranger to the opioid crisis. In 2017, the state had 836 drug-related deaths. Recent studies show opioid deaths kill more Wisconsinites than car crashes.

In 2017, the Indiana State Department of Health reported an average of five drug-overdose deaths per day. Three out of every five deaths involved opioids.

State Representative Aaron Vega recently toured the CleanSlate center in Holyoke to learn more about the lifesaving addiction treatment services provided to hundreds of patients. During his visit, Rep. Vega met with several members of the CleanSlate team to discuss the alarming rate of opioid related deaths and what can be done to expand treatment options for those in need.