ALBANY COUNTY — Albany County saw its first decrease in overdose deaths in several years last year, falling at a similar rate as overdose deaths nationally. 

But the county’s deaths diverge from national data in the preponderance of fentanyl fatalities.

County spokeswoman Mary Rozak told The Enterprise this week, shortly after the paper reported on an Albany man whose body was found in Knox months after a fatal overdose, that there were 126 deaths in 2023, which is down from 131 the year before.

That 3.8-percent decrease is close to the 3-percent decrease in overdose deaths nationwide, following a period both nationally and locally where the number of deaths was skyrocketing. 

Albany County had just 62 overdose deaths in 2019, and that figure increased consistently before peaking at 131 in 2022, which was more than triple the number of overdose deaths in 2015. 

The New York Times reported earlier this summer on a similar national trend, where there has been a steady increase in overdose deaths over a five-year period before a slight drop last year. 

Fentanyl dominant in Albany County

Where the trajectories diverge, however, is the involvement of fentanyl — a highly potent and therefore highly dangerous synthetic opioid — and other opioids in the deaths.

Nationally, the number of opioid deaths fell by nearly 4 percent while the number of deaths from cocaine and meth went up. In Albany County, however, more of the deaths in 2023 — 89 percent — involved fentanyl than in 2022, where they were involved in 82 percent. 

Rozak told The Enterprise that, in the first half of 2024, there have been 45 overdose deaths, 75.6 percent of which involved fentanyl. 

Albany County has been taking steps to address the increase in overdoses through various outreach efforts, with a particular focus on fentanyl due to its impact on the death toll. 

As The Enterprise reported last week, drug-users often are not aware they’re taking fentanyl, which is packaged into other drugs to increase their potency or alter their effects.

A Johns Hopkins survey of drug-users found that a vast majority — about 85 percent — were both concerned about fentanyl in their drugs and willing to have their drugs checked for the substance.

Rozak said that Albany County, through its Mobile Outreach Treatment and Opioid Response initiative, known as MOTOR, distributed 433 fentanyl test strips in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. 

Increasing outreach

In that time, the county has also distributed 250 naloxone kits, which are used to reverse opioid overdoses; 158 xylazine test strips, which checks for an animal tranquilizer known as tranq; 60 sweatshirts; 72 blankets; 150 water bottles; 26 hats and scarves; and 100 backpacks. 

She also said there were 117 overdose survivor follow-ups in 2023 and 80 so far in 2024; 115 referrals to substance-abuse treatment in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024; and 159 engagement/outreach connections in the same period. 

According to the Albany County Department of Mental Health’s goals and objectives outlined for the state this year, the county hopes to expand its services and make access easier for those who need it. 

“People continue to die from both suicide and opiate overdoses, despite the presence of outreach, support and ongoing services in the behavioral health system,” the outline reads. “Any death above ‘zero’ is too many. Not everyone who presents with [mental health] and/or [substance-use disorder] needs seeks services, and with the varying issues throughout the system, it can be challenging to access even if they do.”

The outline expresses a desire for a crisis stabilization center that would serve as a transitionary location for patients awaiting more specialized care, which the county suggests could help connect people with substance-use disorder to key services. 

The county also hopes to increase support for those with “co-occuring needs” by June of 2025, partly by strengthening and expanding programs like MOTOR and the Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting (ACCORD) program, which sends mental-health professionals to calls that would otherwise be responded to solely by police. 

After a successful pilot period in the rural Hilltowns, ACCORD is expected to be rolled out in the city of Albany in 2025. 

“The aim of this goal is to expand access to treatment services for individuals with co-occurring needs, addressing the intertwined challenges of mental health, substance use, developmental disabilities, as well as those who are aging,” the county outline says of integrative care like that offered by MOTOR and ACCORD. “By fostering collaboration, raising awareness, and providing integrated care, the initiative envisions a future where individuals receive the comprehensive support they require to achieve lasting recovery and enhanced quality of life.”