BERLIN – The Worcester County Health Department will hold open houses at two of its treatment centers as National Recovery Month comes to an end.
The events will serve as an ongoing effort to combat drug and alcohol abuse among adults and adolescents within the county and state.
Recent data from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) show increasing amounts of intoxication deaths in 2015, with opioid-related fatalities outpacing any other form of lethal overdose.
The state department says these intoxication fatalities have increased for five straight years and have doubled since 2010.
From January to June of 2015, five people in Worcester County died from drug and alcohol intoxication, according to the DHMH.
This year, these numbers have increase 260 percent.
Within the same time period this year, 18 people in the county have died from drug and alcohol intoxication.
Christina Purcell, the behavioral health program manager for the Worcester County Health Department, wants residents to know treatment and preventative programs are available for their use.
“We want to get the word out that we are here,” Purcell says.
For this reason, the Center for Clean Start (C4CS) in Salisbury, Md., and the Worcester Addiction Cooperative Services (WACS) in Ocean City, Md., will host open houses on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 respectively.
Both events will take place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Clean Start is an intensive program for pregnant and postpartum women struggling with drugs and alcohol.
Health departments in Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset and Dorchester Counties have partnered together to provide services to these women, according to Purcell.
She says these services include: counseling, education, treatment, childcare, transportation, and possible transitional housing.
Worcester County’s second program, WACS, works specifically with county residents who are struggling with substance abuse.
Like Clean Start, WACS assesses the needs of each person and provides different levels of treatment based on those findings, Purcell says.
Both locations will be open to the public and will provide resources and support for all who attend.
Staff and counselors will be on hand to give tours of the facilities and to explain their services.
Purcell says the Health Department plans to show recorded client testimonials and give hourly Naloxone training sessions.
Naloxone, an opioid reversal drug, is a treatment method that prevents overdose.
Both the treatment and prevention programs within the Health Department highlight the importance of these services.
Last year, the Health Department began a “Decisions Matter” campaign as a means to prevent risky behavior among adolescents.
This year, the campaign has shifted its focus to include the entire population of Worcester County and have advertised the program’s bi-monthly Naloxone training classes.
Now, locals will be able to attend these classes at the open houses.
“These are going to be our first events, and we hope to continue these events after National Recovery Month,” Purcell says.
Additional activities and refreshments will be available at the two open houses, according to the Health Department.
Family and friends of those struggling are encouraged to come and participate.
“It is free to the public, and we hope everyone comes out,” Purcell says.