Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente was joined by representatives from law enforcement, health and mental health agencies on Thursday to outline the County's fight against the opioid crisis.

Picente says the County's Overdose Response Team is taking a multi-pronged approach to attack the epidemic head on.

He says that includes implementation of the Overdose Detection Mapping Application program to capture and monitor real-time confirmed overdoses by law enforcement.

ODMAP was first used last month when it detected 21 heroin overdoses over a 10-day span that resulted in five deaths.  Picente says those numbers are improving.  He says in the past seven days, there have four overdoses and one death.

“The opiate epidemic is running rampant all across the nation, and we here in Oneida County have felt the havoc it has wreaked firsthand,” Picente said. “Like in all matters, this government has refused to sit back as the families of our community are ravaged by the suffering and loss it has unleashed. Through our Overdose Response Team and the utilization of the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, we now have multiple weapons in our arsenal to identify overdoses in real time and rapidly respond to any crisis situation and provide opiate abusers and their families with the care, services and support they need.”

Oneida County is one of 27 counties in the state using ODMAP.

Oneida County Executive's Office
Oneida County Executive's Office
loading...

More From WIBX 950