T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Linda Mehl, director of maternal and child health at the Belmont County Health Department, looks over one of the Narcan kits to be given out during Overdose Awareness Day Aug. 31. There is also a health fair set for September.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Drug overdoses are a growing problem in the area, and there are more efforts to raise awareness and provide tools to help people know what to do when someone’s life is in peril. One event is scheduled for the end of the month.

Linda Mehl, director of maternal and child health at the Belmont County Health Department, said according to unofficial data, so far this year there have been 17 overdose deaths of Belmont County residents in the county.

“We’re on pace really to pass our highest year, which was 2020, with 28 deaths. So we are on track to surpass that if things keep going like they are,” she said.

Mehl said official death statistics are often received about two years later, since they must be checked by the Ohio Department of Health. And since Belmont County borders West Virginia, county residents may die there.

“That data all has to pass to the state and be processed, so sometimes it’s behind,” she said.

The health department will be marking International Overdose Awareness Day — the first of its kind to be marked in Belmont County — 1:30-4 p.m. Aug 31 at the Walmart plaza parking lot.

“We’ll be distributing Narcan kits, which have two doses of naloxone in them, and also there’ll be some other items that will go along with that. We have gun locks,” she said.

Mehl added there will also be hygiene kits.

“Last year, what we did was on a smaller scale. The Mental Health and Recovery Board had an event at the St. Clairsville park. We gave out kits there, but this is on a larger scale.”

She thanks Wamart for offering parking lot space for the event.

She said this was made possible through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, secured with the help of the Cumberland Trail Fire District.

“We were able to secure the funds to provide this event,” she said.

Mehl said Narcan is a valuable tool for helping people suffering an overdose, but developments in drug use can make rendering aid difficult.

“Naloxone typically reduces overdoses or reverses overdoses due to opiates. So if somebody’s going to overdose on cocaine or something, this is not going to work, but it’s specific for opiate overdoses,” she said. “But what we’re seeing is opiates are mixed in with other street drugs or sometimes pills that are being manufactured on the street and have fentanyl in them.”

Mehl added that Narcan is effective in cases of fentanyl overdose, but the kits were chiefly designed with pills and heroin in mind.

“You might need more doses. It just depends on a lot of different factors,” she said.

There will be about 200 Narcan kits given out. Mehl said the need has only grown.

“When I first started giving out naloxone back in 2015, I maybe gave out 80 kits in a year. Well now I give out 10 times that much. It’s drastically increased. We have it in all the schools and multiple agencies. It’s just becoming more and more common for people to have it on hand if they encounter somebody who’s having an overdose,” she said.

“We originally started out targeting friends and family of individuals who use drugs, and it’s just expanded way beyond,” she said.

The Cumberland Trail Fire District will also help distribute items, along with the Partners in Prevention Coalition.

In addition, the health department is also planning a health fair Sept. 14 at the Bellaire High School gym.

“There are multiple agencies that are going to be present for various health screenings,” she said. “It’s going to be a free community event. We’re still finalizing some of the details. The high school students are going to be involved as well.”

Mehl said this will also be the health department’s first year for such a fair. She said access to health care can be difficult in some areas of the county.

“It’s the opportunity to come there for free,” she said. “We do feel like we’re not always reaching everybody that we could in the community and wanted to try and make an event that was free, that people could come to, to get the screenings that they need and linked with services they need.

“We’re trying to reach the underserved, which typically Bellaire is an underserved area. Not that it’s going to be limited to folks from Bellaire, but also people who don’t have insurance or are between jobs and who have lost their coverage. Transportation is a huge issue in the county, so we’re going to areas that aren’t typically served.”

Agencies expected to be present include the Red Cross, CareSource health provider, Cedar Ridge Behavioral Services, The Health Plan, Ohio Hills Health Services, nursing and physical therapy students.

The health department is located at 68501 Bannock Uniontown Road, St Clairsville and can be reached at 740-695-1202. The website is belmontcountyhealth.com.