Local Accidental Drug Overdose Deaths Twice As Much As Similar Ohio Counties

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DAYTON -- Montgomery County's accidental drug overdose death rate remains far higher than those of other urban Ohio counties, newly released state and local data show. Local researchers are perplexed as to why. State data show the county's accidental drug overdose death rate was 23 per 100,000 people in 2009. That's twice the rate of Ohio's other urban counties. The data are preliminary and do not include out-of-state deaths of Ohioans. Meanwhile, a new report prepared for the county by Wright State University, obtained Wednesday by the Dayton Daily News, projected the county had 130 accidental drug poisoning deaths in 2010, in line with 126 deaths in 2009 and 132 in 2008. "We're in the process of trying to better understand the nature and extent and cause of the problem, and develop programming efforts to reach people either directly or indirectly to cut down on ... overdose deaths," said Russel Falck, the WSU study's principal investigator.

The report -- which so far has cost $60,000 in federal money and $20,000 from Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County -- did not answer why Montgomery County's rate of accidental deaths from prescription and illicit drug overdoses is so high. But the report said additional data expected this spring from the county coroner's office and the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association will be critical to understanding and preventing the problem.

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Local Accidental Drug Overdose Deaths Twice As Much As Similar Ohio Counties

Public Health last week approved $80,000 m...

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