Luzerne County has reached a new record high number of drug overdose deaths, with 114 confirmed cases this year to date, said county Coroner William Lisman.

Another five suspected drug deaths are under review, and more are expected through the end of the year, Lisman said.

The county’s previous high was 95 drug overdose deaths last year.

Lisman has issued public warnings about the deaths, including an alert in May about the emergence of furanyl fentanyl, a designer derivative of the pain medication fentanyl that is concocted in labs and significantly more powerful than heroin. He also has questioned why accidental drug overdoses killing so many residents are “under the radar.”

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Witnessing the onslaught of overdose deaths is difficult, the coroner said last week. Many of the deceased this year tested positive for heroin and fentanyl.

“After 40-plus years in this business, I’ve learned to disassociate myself from what we do out of necessity,” Lisman said. “We are just one of many, many counties suffering the effects of addiction.”

His office also has surpassed last year’s 45 autopsies, in part due to the increasing drug problem. Forty-six autopsies were performed as of last week.

More autopsies have been necessary, Lisman said, because initial blood and urine screenings sometimes don’t detect drugs, even though an overdose is suspected. The county must wait several weeks for the results of advanced toxicology screenings performed by an outside lab, which means an autopsy is needed to rule out foul play as a cause of death.

Another byproduct of the drug addiction: unclaimed bodies.

The county is required by law to bury the deceased within its borders if no survivors will claim the body.

With 18 unclaimed bodies this year to date, the county has reached another “all-time high,” Lisman said. The previous high was 17 bodies in 2013.

While he won’t discuss specifics due to confidentiality, Lisman said he located immediate relatives in several deaths of suspected drug users, and the family members refused to step up to handle the burial arrangements and expense.

Lisman said he won’t judge immediate family members who are unwilling or unable to pay, but he is frustrated because taxpayers must foot the bill.

The county pays $750 for a no-frills grave and burial, which is lower than the tab for many counties across the state, Lisman said. Body bags containing the remains of the unclaimed bodies are unceremoniously placed inside a corrugated cardboard coffin and lowered into the ground, where they remain in unmarked plots at the Maple Hill Cemetery in Hanover Township.

Under these conditions, Lisman said, it’s unlikely he will stay within his $505,000 budget this year.

County Manager C. David Pedri said he requested additional funding for the coroner’s office next year — a matter that will be discussed in coming weeks as part of 2017 budget sessions.

“It’s a frightening epidemic that has hit our county and our homes. We are not alone in this fight, and we are trying our best to combat it through increased training and outreach,” Pedri said.

Addiction has caused rising expenses in multiple county departments, including a county prison system filled with inmates lodged on drug-related offenses and court branches that must adjudicate these cases.

The county human services division recently offered three training sessions to show parents of addicts how to identify the signs of an opioid overdose and reverse the effects by administering the antidote naloxone.

County officials also are discussing expanding county drug and alcohol treatment programs, including a day reporting center and drug treatment court that provide customized addiction recovery plans for offenders, said Pedri, who mourned the loss this year of a close friend’s son due to a heroin overdose.

“Through my time working in the district attorney’s office, I saw so many lives destroyed by these drugs, so many assaults and murders because of these drugs,” said Pedri, an attorney. “We are facing it head-on, but we can’t do it alone.”

Lisman
http://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Bill_Lisman-1.jpg.optimal.jpgLisman

Pedri
http://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Pedri-David_toned-5.jpg.optimal.jpgPedri

http://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Opioids-1.jpg.optimal.jpg
County also sees a new high in unclaimed bodies

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

jandes@timesleader.com

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.