MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Last year the Monroe County district attorney's office handled more than 80 deadly overdose cases. It's a problem that Monroe County Detective Kim Lippincott says is only getting worse.
"Drugs are everywhere. I mean, that's not a secret. You see drug deals happening in parking lots, public spaces, and who knows what's happening behind closed doors, and we're doing everything that we can to combat that," Lippincott said.
That's why the DA's office launched the Overdose Fatality Review Program.
In 2020, the DA's office started to look into fatal overdose cases and found these people often had previous interactions with recovery agencies and law enforcement who could have intervened.
Lippincott says two cases will be looked at during each meeting.
"We send out a letter to the individuals participating in the overdose review program. They search their databases and find out when they've had contact with the individual," Lippincott said. "When we come to the review meeting, everyone kind of explains how they contacted this individual and what services they offered. Were there any gaps in service or rehabilitation? And then we formulate recommendations."
Carbon, Monroe, Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission is one of the agencies that play a part in the Overdose Fatality Review Program.
Case managers hope the program will help reduce overdose deaths in the future.
"It gives us an opportunity for us to start working together with other agencies and people within the community to try and figure out the best interventions and also to just try and understand the gravity of the problem," said Chris Sorrentino, a case manager supervisor with the commission.
"We hear time and time again parents saying, 'The system failed my kid.' We don't want the system to fail. We want the system to work, and we want people to get help if they need help," Lippincott said.
The first Overdose Fatality Review meeting will take place in late November.
If you are an organization that works with people in recovery or addiction, you're asked to contact the Monroe County DA's office to get involved.
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