Manchester officials update city's 'Overdose Prevention Strategy'
Apr. 25—As part of the ongoing effort to reduce the number of opioid overdoses in the city, Manchester officials released the 2024 Overdose Prevention Strategy, billed as a 46-page blueprint for a healthier community.
Eight years ago, city officials released the "2016 City of Manchester: Response to the Opioid Crisis." While program-specific initiatives have been launched since then, a city-wide investment strategy has yet to be created, officials said.
In 2022, Manchester's Health Department secured renewed funding and technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO), enabling the implementation of comprehensive overdose prevention strategies.
Manchester, along with states and communities across the nation, has participated in the National Opioid Settlement against pharmacies, resulting in the establishment of the Opioid Abatement Trust Fund.
City officials said while the fund "provides vital resources, we recognize the importance of strategic investment to ensure sustainable and measurable impact on the ground."
"This strategy is not only an opportunity to highlight what is working locally, but also to identify and implement additional evidence-based best practices to reduce overdoses, and save lives," Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais said in a statement.
Year to date, 52% of all overdoses in the city were experienced by those without a fixed address, Ruais said. Overall, suspected overdose fatalities fell 25% over the last year.
"This updated strategic effort will form a core component of our response to the homeless crisis," Ruais said in a statement. "We must build on this momentum, and this strategic update allows us to do just that. The recommendations stemming from this strategy will serve as a blueprint for a healthier community, fostering increased access to mental health and substance use disorder care for all residents of Manchester."
City Public Health Director Anna Thomas said preventing overdoses in a community requires a "multidimensional and unified approach."
"This guide will lead the city toward strategies proven to save lives," Thomas said in a statement.
"This data-driven roadmap will help guide decisions that can give people the opportunities proven most effective for them to enter and sustain recovery," added Chris Stawasz, regional director of government affairs at American Medical Response, Inc.
The full report can be found at https://tinyurl.com/56pnnj52.
March ended a recent trend of significant monthly decreases in the number of suspected opioid overdoses in the state's two largest cities, American Medical Response (AMR) medics reported this week.
The number was up 30% from February, but was slightly lower than numbers reported in March 2023, Stawasz said.
AMR medics responded to a total of 70 suspected opioid overdoses in the state's largest cities last month — 50 in Manchester and 20 in Nashua.
Ten of those calls involved deaths — six in Manchester, four in Nashua.
Twelve percent of all suspected overdoses in Manchester were fatal last month.
Compared with the first quarter of 2023, the number of suspected overdoses in Manchester is down 25%, 129 this year versus 173 last year. Fatal overdoses are down 5%.
AMR medics responded to a total of 697 suspected opioid overdoses in Manchester in 2023.
In Manchester, the number of suspected opioid overdoses year over year was down 1% (697 compared with 701 in 2022), while fatal overdoses were 24% lower (60 versus 79). Eight percent of all suspected opioid overdoses in Manchester last year were fatal, according to AMR.
In New Hampshire, anyone can seek substance use disorder treatment by accessing the NH Doorway program 24/7. To access the program, call 211 at any time of the day or night, or visit www.thedoorway.nh.gov.
If you believe someone is overdosing, call 911 immediately.
