After 156 Overdose Calls In 2016, Bristol Borough Officials Hold Forum

Bristol Borough joined the growing number of municipalities in hosting community forums on the growing opiate crisis Thursday night.

“I work in healthcare, so it is good for me to see what avenues are available to help people,” said Bristol Borough Council Vice President Betty Rodriguez, who put together the original call to action for the meeting.

An expert panel including District Attorney Matt Weintraub and the Bucks County Rescue Squad Chief Scott Bahner. The panel engaged the public of Bristol  Borough for nearly an hour talking through the struggles, realities and hopes behind the opiate epidemic and tackling it.

The panel and meeting came together after Rodriguez asked for council to send a letter to Weintraub inviting him to come for such a forum.

“To me, it’s not only addiction, but a true sickness,” Rodriguez said at the beginning of the meeting.

Throughout the meeting, the use of anti-opioid overdose antidotes were presented to the public as a way in which lives can be saved. Weintraub also mentioned the drug take back program that county authorities and local police take part in throughout the year. He added that it is the most successful prescription drug take back program in the state.

The signs to look for in overdose victims include unconsciousness, inadequate breathing and pinpoint pupils, Bahner said.

Previously, medical experts have explained to LevittownNow.com that a patient’s brain is slowly starved of oxygen during a drug overdose, which can cause serious and life-threatening damage in a matter of minutes. Use of anti-opioid overdose antidotes, like Narcan, can save lives if administered by the first responding officials or a bystander carrying the substance.

While anti-opioid overdose antidotes are important to help people, Bahner explained that it isn’t the end goal. The medicine can be metabolized more quickly than the opiates, so it is very likely that more than one antidote shot would be needed. Serious medical attention should always be sought after an overdose, Bahner explained.

“The whole point is to give them just enough medicine to get them breathing again,” he told the crowd.

In 2016, medics in the Levittown area handled many hundreds of overdose calls, including several dozen fatalities. County-wide around 140 drug overdose deaths were investigated by the Bucks County Coroner’s Office, according to public records.

Bristol Borough Chief of Police Steve Henry said that responders last year in Bristol Borough alone were dispatched to 156 overdose calls, 13 resulting in deaths.

For Rodriguez, the goal of an awareness campaign isn’t complete. Ana Rosado, clinical director from the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission, has already expressed interest in coming back to the borough for community workshops, and Rodriguez wants to keep the information flowing, too.

“The information we got last night is crucial, I feel,” Rodriguez said. “I just think that it is important not to judge people when you don’t know the situation.”