ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Ninth District’s Medical Examiner’s Office released data today showing opioid overdose deaths decreased in Orange County from 2023 to 2024.
“Accidental drug overdoses for Orange County have decreased by 30% from 2023 to 2024 while opioid-related drug overdoses have decreased by 37.1% within the same time period,” said Dr. Joshua Stephany, Chief Medical Examiner for the Ninth Judicial District’s Medical Examiner’s Office.
The county is reportedly working with residents who don’t typically access care, including people incarcerated at the Orange County Jail.
“We identify people who are at risk for an opioid relapse or people experiencing an opioid withdrawal,” said Dr. Thomas Hall, Manager of the Orange County Office for a Drug-Free Community and the administrator of the Orange County Opioid Settlement Funds.
Hall continues, “The Corrections Health Services Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Clinic in the Orange County Jail is making a difference in the lives of inmates seeking substance use disorder treatment. We work with those who begin MAT treatment and follow up with their care in the community when they are released.”
Orange County Health Services says people enrolled in the county’s MAT program and Navigator Services are less likely to die from an overdose within a year of their release from the Orange County Jail.
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