October 2021 brings lamentable news: Vermont’s opioid overdose deaths at that point in the year were the highest in state history.
Some 169 Vermonters fatally overdosed on opioids between January and October 2021, the state health department said in a report released last week.
That figure eclipses the 157 deaths through all of 2020 — which previously set the record since comparative data was established in 2009.
Last year’s monthly death tolls have foreshadowed this outcome. But now it’s officially in the books.
“The pandemic and having this number, it’s definitely scary to read,” said Shannon Carchidi, director of the North Central Vermont Recovery Center based in Morrisville.
The substance misuse recovery center serves Lamoille County, a county of around 26,000 where 10 residents fatally overdosed between January and October.
Lamoille logged the highest per capita overdose death rate among Vermont’s 14 counties for that period — 39.4 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to the health department report. The statewide rate is 26.8 deaths.
A year prior, in October 2020, the county’s rate was 19.7 deaths, the health department told VTDigger.
Carchidi said Lamoille County’s spike in overdose deaths was no surprise since her center’s work includes facilitating support group meetings and responding to the Copley Hospital emergency department in Morrisville to assist people with substance use disorder.
“When we experience a death like this, it’s usually a part of our community, so we tend to feel it and hear about it,” she said. “It may have been someone we were working with or could have been someone who we were familiar with.”
State health officials and recovery professionals have pointed to the coronavirus pandemic as a factor in Vermont’s greater overdose deaths during the past two years. (In 2019, the year before the pandemic hit, Vermont recorded 114 such deaths — the lowest since 2014.)
People who are experiencing depression or anxiety amid the pandemic may be using substances as a coping mechanism, officials have said. Normal drug supply chains also may have been disrupted, leading users to obtain drugs of unfamiliar quality from new or unknown sources.
Crucially, social distancing to mitigate the virus’ spread has led to more people using drugs on their own. If they overdose, no one is around to administer naloxone, an opioid antidote commonly known by the brand name Narcan.
Social isolation is also risky for people in recovery. They need to maintain personal connections and support to prevent from relapsing, peer recovery coaches have said.
The pandemic has also constrained some crucial social services. For instance, the wait to get into an inpatient treatment facility in Vermont now lasts at least two weeks, said Tonya Wright, associate director of Rutland County’s Turning Point recovery center.
The facilities are not only facing staffing shortages but also limiting the number of patients they can accept to maintain social distancing, she said.
“I can connect somebody with Valley Vista or Serenity House, but whether or not they get in on time, that's completely out of my control,” Wright said, referring to treatment facilities in Bradford, Vergennes and Wallingford.
However, executives at Valley Vista and Serenity House said that's not an accurate picture of what's happening.
Rick DiStefano, co-owner of Valley Vista, said Wednesday that 50 of his facility’s 99 beds are open, and the majority of patients are admitted on the same day or the following day.
Chadd Viger, CEO of Serenity House, said patients are ordinarily able to get in within 24 hours when no special paperwork is required. As of Wednesday, 20 of its 25 beds were filled, he said. He said he is not sure why stories are circulating about admission delays at their inpatient facilities.
Rutland County, with 21 opioid overdose deaths, had the second-highest number through October 2021 — next to Chittenden County’s 32 deaths.
But while Chittenden County’s per capita deaths are below the state average due to its population size, Rutland County has the third-highest rate at 36.1 deaths per 100,000 people. At 36.7 deaths per 100,000 residents, Bennington County is second only to Lamoille County.
In August, as Lamoille’s fatal opioid overdose rate continued climbing, the North Central Vermont Recovery Center opened a satellite location in Johnson.
The new location, situated at the community center Jenna’s House, offers programming aimed at reaching more people in recovery. This includes a free gym, child care to help parents who are attending meetings and a room where children can play while their parents consult with recovery center staff.
“Everyone has choices of what works for them,” Carchidi said. “It's different for everybody.”
Correction: The availability of treatment center beds has been clarified.
