Last fall we reported on some sobering numbers of opioids deaths in Cobb County, which has the highest overdose death rate in the state of Georgia.
A number of initiatives have been begun to address those trends, including the Cobb Opioid Fatality Review Project under the auspices of the Cobb District Attorney’s Office. That project received a nearly $900,000 U.S. Justice Department grant to cover three years.
On Wednesday DA Joyette Holmes sent out the following message about the project’s first review:
In the DA’s Office, Judicial Case Manager Latoya Inzar and Inv. Matthew Mize are dedicated to the Fatality Review Project.
“Cobb County completed its first opioid fatality review (OFR) on Nov. 20, with great participation from stakeholders and the U.S. Department of Justice,” Inzar said. “We were able to review three recent overdose deaths, and recommendations followed to improve policy and practice. As the OFRs are still new to Cobb County and the state of Georgia, our team will continue to improve the process.”
Among the accomplishments, Inzar created a treatment guide and community resource booklet of food, housing, healthcare and other resources available to Cobb residents impacted by the opioid crisis.
Project leaders have attended various trainings, and they participated in Marietta Police Department’s opioid symposium in September. They regularly review findings of the Cobb Medical Examiner on overdose deaths and are engaged in mapping and analyzing individual cases.
Mize, who works to identify the drug dealers behind overdose deaths, said: “The significance of this work is that it will save lives, but more importantly, we aim to transform the lives of those suffering from addiction so that they may reach a sustainable recovery.”
In 2018, Cobb recorded 95 overdose deaths.
Here are more resources collected on the county government’s opioids awareness page, and more background information from the Cobb Community Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse. The CDC also has more data about opioid deaths in Cobb.
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