New Sheriff's Office, EMS program combats opioid crisis in Greenville County. What to know.

Savannah Moss, Greenville News
·2 min read

As opioid deaths continue to rise in Greenville County, the Sherriff’s Office is taking a new approach in tracking overdoses.

The Opioid Response Program, launched in January, partners with Greenville County EMS to track each opioid-related overdose.

At a press conference Tuesday, Aug. 15, Sheriff Hobart Lewis said an analyst in the sheriff's department will use the data to find common patterns among overdoses, such as the trend of overdoses involving fentanyl, along with age and demographic patterns.

Officials noted this research "fills a hole in missing data by proactively tracking each opioid-related overdose in Greenville County.”

As part of the program, GCSO will also team up with county emergency medical services to provide individuals who have experienced an overdose with resources, such as drug treatment programs, to assist with recovery and prevention of future overdoses.

The new program works alongside the POWER initiative, which allows community members to seek help from professionals specializing in addiction treatment at the Piney Mountain Community Center, located at 501 Worley Rd.

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Upstate law enforcement officers and community leaders and elected officials held an open meeting to talk about understanding each others points of view. The meeting was held at the Mt. Pleasant Community Center in Greenville on March 30, 2023. Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis spoke to the public about police actions in the community.
Upstate law enforcement officers and community leaders and elected officials held an open meeting to talk about understanding each others points of view. The meeting was held at the Mt. Pleasant Community Center in Greenville on March 30, 2023. Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis spoke to the public about police actions in the community.

Sheriff Lewis said the two programs can work together to address the opioid epidemic. He stressed the importance of further funding.

“We anticipate successful results. We're very proud that we have taken two significant steps with these outreach programs,” Lewis said. “But at the same time, we're talking about highly addictive opioids. We can't fight this alone.”

According to DHEC, there were 2,077 unintentional overdoses from opioids in South Carolina in 2021, up from 1,652 in 2020. In Greenville County, deaths from opioid overdoses increased by 47.9% during the same time period.

“This is one of those successful partnerships where law enforcement and EMS have joined hands because we both believe in the same thing,” said Dr. Tom Blackwell, director of Greenville County EMS. “And that's getting to these individuals early ... so that we can help them get them into rehabilitation programs and they can get their lives back.”

Reach Savannah Moss at smoss@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Opioid deaths continue to rise in Greenville SC. New program formed.