{"id":22393,"date":"2025-03-25T14:20:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T18:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?post_type=press-release&p=22393"},"modified":"2025-03-25T14:20:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T18:20:36","slug":"opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Opioid Overdose Deaths Decreased in Orange County for 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Health Services attribute the decrease to treating the incarcerated population.<\/em><\/p>\n

Orange County, FL<\/strong> \u2013 The Ninth District\u2019s Medical Examiner\u2019s Office released data today showing opioid overdose deaths decreased in Orange County from 2023 to 2024. The drop in deaths is a trend happening across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccidental 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,\u201d said Dr. Joshua Stephany, Chief Medical Examiner for the Ninth Judicial District\u2019s Medical Examiner\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Fatal Opioid vs Non-Opioid Overdoses by Year, Orange County, 2019-2024<\/em><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Thomas Hall, Manager for the Orange County Office for a Drug-Free Community and the administrator of the Orange County Opioid Settlement Funds, says the county is working with residents who don\u2019t typically access care. These residents include people incarcerated at the Orange County Jail.<\/p>\n

“We identify people who are at risk for an opioid relapse or people experiencing an opioid withdrawal,\u201d said Dr. Hall. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Hall says once patients are released from jail, they are contacted by an Opioid Navigator Team to help them continue the recovery process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Opioid Navigator Teams include a Licensed Social Worker and a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist. Once a MAT patient is released, the Opioid Navigator Team meets with the patient to arrange a referral to the MAT clinic at the Orange County Medical Clinic so they can continue their care,\u201d Dr. Hall said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Hall added that the Opioid Navigator teams will help patients find means of support outside of the Orange County Jail to increase the likelihood of continuing their treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople with a substance use disorder that get arrested, released, and re-arrested typically do not have a stable support system,\u201d said Dr. Hall. \u201cThat can be as simple as owning a cellphone or accessing public transportation. The teams will work to help find housing, transportation, and even cellphones to re-establish a support system that will help them continue their treatment and recovery process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Raul Pino, Director of Orange County Health Services, the department of the Ninth District\u2019s Medical Examiner\u2019s Office, and the Orange County Office for a Drug-Free Community, says people enrolled in the county\u2019s MAT program and Navigator Services are less likely to die from an overdose within a year of their release from the Orange County Jail.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the people who died from an overdose in 2023 and were released from jail within the prior 365 days, none of them were involved with our MAT Treatment program,\u201d said Dr. Pino.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Health Services attribute the decrease to treating the incarcerated population. Orange County, FL \u2013 The Ninth District\u2019s Medical Examiner\u2019s Office released data today showing opioid overdose deaths decreased in Orange County from 2023 to 2024. The drop in deaths is a trend happening across the country. \u201cAccidental drug overdoses for Orange County have decreased by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-22393","press-release","type-press-release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOpioid Overdose Deaths Decreased in Orange County for 2024<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Opioid overdose deaths decreased in Orange County from 2023 to 2024. The drop in deaths is a trend happening across the country.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opioid Overdose Deaths Decreased in Orange County for 2024\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Opioid overdose deaths decreased in Orange County from 2023 to 2024. The drop in deaths is a trend happening across the country.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OCFL Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/OCFL-Flat-Logo-Newsroom.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"840\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"970\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OrangeCoFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/\",\"name\":\"Opioid Overdose Deaths Decreased in Orange County for 2024\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/OCFL-Flat-Logo-Newsroom-150x150.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-25T18:20:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"Opioid overdose deaths decreased in Orange County from 2023 to 2024. The drop in deaths is a trend happening across the country.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/OCFL-Flat-Logo-Newsroom.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/OCFL-Flat-Logo-Newsroom.png\",\"width\":840,\"height\":970},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Press Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Opioid Overdose Deaths Decreased in Orange County for 2024\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/\",\"name\":\"OCFL Newsroom\",\"description\":\"Orange County, Florida | Government Newsroom\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Orange County Government Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png\",\"width\":504,\"height\":504,\"caption\":\"Orange County Government Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/OrangeCoFL\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ocfl\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/orange-county-government\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCff6MZzeWNpXg6TCU3jdxbA\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Opioid Overdose Deaths Decreased in Orange County for 2024","description":"Opioid overdose deaths decreased in Orange County from 2023 to 2024. The drop in deaths is a trend happening across the country.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Opioid Overdose Deaths Decreased in Orange County for 2024","og_description":"Opioid overdose deaths decreased in Orange County from 2023 to 2024. The drop in deaths is a trend happening across the country.","og_url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/","og_site_name":"OCFL Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/","og_image":[{"width":840,"height":970,"url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/OCFL-Flat-Logo-Newsroom.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@OrangeCoFL","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/","name":"Opioid Overdose Deaths Decreased in Orange County for 2024","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/OCFL-Flat-Logo-Newsroom-150x150.png","datePublished":"2025-03-25T18:20:36+00:00","description":"Opioid overdose deaths decreased in Orange County from 2023 to 2024. The drop in deaths is a trend happening across the country.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/OCFL-Flat-Logo-Newsroom.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/OCFL-Flat-Logo-Newsroom.png","width":840,"height":970},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2025\/03\/opioid-overdose-deaths-decreased-in-orange-county-for-2024\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Press Releases","item":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Opioid Overdose Deaths Decreased in Orange County for 2024"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/","name":"OCFL Newsroom","description":"Orange County, Florida | Government Newsroom","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization","name":"Orange County Government Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png","width":504,"height":504,"caption":"Orange County Government Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/","https:\/\/x.com\/OrangeCoFL","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ocfl\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/orange-county-government","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCff6MZzeWNpXg6TCU3jdxbA"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/22393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-release"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}