Fentanyl is driving a huge increase in overdose deaths in Thurston County, coroner says

Olympian - 8/22/2021

Aug. 22—The number of overdose deaths in Thurston County in 2021 could be double the number in 2020, given current trends, Coroner Gary Warnock says.

So far, the coroner's office has seen 44 overdose deaths this year compared to 55 in all of 2020, Warnock said during an elected officials meeting last Wednesday. For context, data from the state Department of Heath show 48 drug-related deaths occurred within the county in 2019. That increased from 38 in 2018 and 35 in 2017.

The number of autopsies has increased from an average of 70 in the first half of the year to 106 in 2021, he said.

"I can't forecast the overdoses or the number of autopsies," Warnock said. "We just go on past years and try to plug that in, but this year was just off the charts."

These local numbers seem to fall in line with statewide trends. Overdose deaths in Washington as a whole increased from 377 in the first three months of 2020 to 429 in 2021, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Health.

Similar to statewide trends, many of Thurston County's overdoses have been linked to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine.

"The overdose deaths are a driving factor in our autopsies expenditures and it's a lot of fentanyl," Warnock said. "From teenagers to all of the ethnic groups and classifications."

In addition to overdoses, the Coroner's Office has dealt with 27 suicides so far, 18 of which occurred by the midpoint of the year. Warnock said he expects the county to be on track to record 45-50 suicide deaths, which is the average from previous years.

According to DOH data, Thurston County saw 46 suicides in 2019, 44 in 2018, 61 in 2017, 51 in 2016 and 48 in 2015. Suicide numbers remained in the 40s from 2011-2015, per the data.

Warnock said overdose deaths, homeless deaths and unclaimed decedents are consuming his budget, so he will have to ask the Board of County Commissioners for more funding and support.

Those who are unclaimed sit in refrigeration for three months before they are considered abandoned, he said, at which point the county must pay for their disposition.

So far there have been 18 unclaimed decedents this year, he said, 12 of which occurred by the midpoint of the year. For comparison, he said the county ended last year with 22 total.

How to help

If someone may be overdosing, people should call 911, give naloxone and perform rescue breathing.

To seek treatment for opioid use disorder, call the Washington Recovery Help Line at 866-789-1511.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the Crisis Clinic of Thurston and Mason Counties operates a confidential, anonymous crisis intervention hotline 24 hours a day, every day of the year at 360-586-2800.

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