Revived and revisited: Lehigh County program checks on OD victims

Newsrooms across the commonwealth have spent years documenting the opioid crisis in their own communities. But now, in the special project State of Emergency: Searching for Solutions to Pennsylvania’s Opioids Crisis, we are marshalling resources to spotlight what Pennsylvanians are doing to try to reverse the soaring number of overdose deaths.

WITF is releasing more than 60 stories, videos and photos throughout July. This week, you will find stories about initial response and how addition affects families.

 

(Allentown) — Erica Hartman’s work is unpredictable. People ignore her. People get annoyed with her. But sometimes, she helps people save themselves from the death grip of opioid addiction.

“They might know they need help, but they don’t know how to get it,” said the addiction recovery counselor in Allentown. “It’s important to get them the information.”

In the past few months, Hartman has been visiting homes with Lehigh County police officers as a follow-up visit after an emergency response for a drug overdose there.

Known as the Blue Guardian program, it aims to reduce overdose deaths by bringing cops and recovery specialists to those who need treatment.

The public health crisis, sparked by an overprescription of opioid painkillers in the 1990s, is becoming increasingly deadly with potent drugs like heroin and fentanyl. The Lehigh Valley has been hit hard with overdose deaths. Last year, 306 people died in Lehigh and Northampton counties, according to annual coroners’ reports, an increase of 42 percent over 2016.

Before the Blue Guardian program launched, officers didn’t always stay in touch with overdose patients. Pennsylvania legislators passed a law in 2014 that forbid officers from prosecuting most overdose victims, including those using illegal drugs, to encourage people to seek emergency help. Lawmakers didn’t want people worried about breaking the law to delay or avoid calling police for help with overdoses.

The law also allowed emergency responders to carry life-saving medication to revive overdose patients.

But Narcan is not enough, police officers realized, because the life-saving medication can’t beat the addiction. Frustrated that those revived by Narcan might overdose again, some Lehigh Valley first responders have called Narcan a “Band-Aid” solution.

The Blue Guardian program gives officers an opportunity to reach out to people after they overdose.

Since the program began in February, officers and counselors visited dozens of people, more than half a dozen of whom have begun recovery, said Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin.

But it’s not been easy. Some refuse counseling. People aren’t always home, or worse, are homeless, said Martin.

“Our goal is simple: We want to get as many people in treatment as possible,” the district attorney said.

Getting people into recovery is hard work, said Michelle Steiner, Hartman’s supervisor at the Treatment Trends recovery facility in Allentown.

“You can’t change someone’s mind. If they’re not ready to go into treatment, they’re not going,” she said.

Many people struggling with addiction are often also going to work and caring for their family.

“They can’t get past putting their life on hold to [go to treatment],” she said. “It’s not easy.”

But for those who are looking for help, the Blue Guardian program can make a difference.

On a Wednesday in March, Hartman visited an overdose patient who is open to treatment, but also knows the powerful draw of her addiction.

She needs someone like Hartman to check in on her and hold her to her commitment to seek help.

“She needs accountability because she really wants to keep using,” Hartman said.