In 2020 , while the world was reacting to the global COVID-19 pandemic , West Virginia was simultaneously responding to its own ongoing epidemic : widespread substance use disorder ( SUD ) and subsequent overdose deaths .
In 2016 , West Virginia led the nation in overdose deaths with a rate 162 % higher than the national average , and in 2017 , the Mountain State had a record number of overdose deaths — 1,019 .
Over the past five years , a multitude of state agencies , nonprofit organizations , private businesses and community initiatives have been working to address the drug epidemic with new prevention , education and treatment options . This work led to a decrease in fatal overdoses in 2018 and 2019 . However , when the COVID-19 pandemic hit , the state — and the country as a whole — began to see an uptick in substance use and related deaths .
More than 100,000 people in the U . S . died of overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021 . In West Virginia , 1,147 people fatally overdosed on drugs between August 2019 and August 2020 , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Matthew Christiansen , M . D ., MPH , director of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Office of Drug Control Policy ( ODCP ), is one of the state leaders working to reverse this trend . According to Christiansen , for West Virginians who were either in recovery or actively struggling with SUD , the increased isolation , instability , barriers to treatment , reduction of services and unemployment issues brought on by the pandemic may have been too much to bear .
“ Addiction is fundamentally a disease of unaddressed pain and suffering , and there is no doubt the pandemic exacerbated that for many ,” he says .
Taking Charge
“ Early on , the ODCP understood the effects COVID-19 had on the treatment and recovery landscape ,” says Christiansen . “ Measures necessary to prevent the spread of COVID- 19 also severely impacted people ’ s ability to enter into treatment and long-term recovery . At the same time , however , the ODCP began to see the impact of the incredibly potent opioid fentanyl in the drug supply . From 2019 to 2020 , fentanyl-related deaths increased by nearly 87 %. When coupled with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic , this created a perfect storm that exacerbated the existing crisis .”
“ Addiction is fundamentally a disease of unaddressed pain and suffering , and there is no doubt the pandemic exacerbated that for many .”
The ODCP is responsible for coordinating a statewide addiction response , recommending evidence-based programs to reduce substance use rates , observing best practices used in other states and making policy recommendations to reduce substance use . Christiansen ’ s office maintains the overdose data dashboard and treatment and recovery map , looks at new ways to use data to inform response and works with a multitude of partners — including law enforcement , corrections , Medicaid , physicians , behavioral health providers , educators , quick response teams ( QRTs ) and emergency medical services — to ensure all citizens have equal access to quality addiction services .
“ In response to the COVID-19 pandemic , the ODCP took several approaches to mitigate the damage caused by reduced human connection , an important part of long-term recovery ,” says Christiansen .
These approaches included :
• Working proactively with treatment providers and recovery residences to develop and implement policies and procedures around preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus
• Working as a liaison between recovery residences , treatment providers and other state agencies to ensure timely and transparent communication
• Coordinating the implementation and tracking of Governor Jim Justice ’ s Council for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment state plan
• Reaching out to specific high-risk groups , such as individuals in recovery residences , treatment providers , office-based medication-assisted treatment programs , outpatient treatment programs , QRTs and crisis stabilization units , to ensure they had naloxone for those that did have a recurrence of drug use
• Working with Medicaid and managing care organizations to educate providers and increase awareness of the new guidelines around how telehealth could be utilized
• Working directly with state hospitals as well as the correctional system — two areas with high rates of contact among individuals with SUD — to ensure people are being screened for SUD , given naloxone at discharge and being referred to treatment with appropriate follow up
• Establishing seven action counties — Berkeley , Cabell , Kanawha , Logan , Monongalia , Raleigh and Wood — to aggressively support naloxone distribution , identify high-need areas and focus on transitions of care for people who have SUD to ensure they are receiving screening , treatment and naloxone at discharge
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