Travis County's worst-in-the-state opioid problem
Why are opioid deaths so high in Austin?
This morning members of the City Council Public Safety Committee were treated to an alarming presentation by Steve White, who oversees the EMS Integrated Services division, which runs a number of programs that proactively address medical needs among underserved populations.
The 2023 data is not yet in, but at the end of 2022 Travis County had by far the worst opioid death rate in the state. OD deaths skyrocketed between 2020 and 2022.
White said that he hoped that the 2023 figures would show significant improvement due to the efforts of his team to increase access to Narcan, the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses.
