Ingham County Warns of Overdose Spike, Sends Narcan Into Neighborhoods

Health officials in Ingham County, Michigan, warned residents this week that non-fatal overdoses rose sharply over a single weekend, and said they suspect at least one of those overdoses was fatal.

The Ingham County Health Department alerted the community on Tuesday to the increase, which its surveillance picked up between October 2 and October 4. Department teams responded by fanning out into specific areas to hand out Narcan, the nasal spray version of naloxone, and to tell residents what help was available.

What the county's monitoring picked up

Dr. Adenike Shoyinka, the county's chief medical health officer, said the reports crossed a threshold the department tracks deliberately.

"We have reached that relative level threshold where we are seeing more than the day-to-day activity that [usually] we see," Shoyinka said.

The health department assembles its picture of the local drug supply from police reports, emergency medical calls and its medical partners rather than waiting for toxicology results, which can take weeks. That faster, incomplete view is what allows officials to act while an increase is still happening, Shoyinka said.

Why counties issue overdose alerts

Spike alerts are a standard tool in American public health. A county or state compares current overdose activity against its own recent baseline and sends out a warning — plus extra naloxone — when the numbers climb past it. The approach treats the drug supply as something that changes week to week, whether from a potent batch, a new adulterant or a shift in what is being sold.

For people who use drugs and for the family members and friends around them, the practical value of the alert is the reminder that a reversal kit should be within reach, that a single dose of naloxone may not be enough, and that help should be called immediately.

Where naloxone is free and anonymous

Hunter Taylor, executive director of Lifeboat Addiction Recovery Services in Lansing, said the supply side of the response is already in place across the city and county.

"Narcan saves lives; that's really the biggest reason," Taylor said. "I don't view death as the solution to addiction. That's really all that Narcan prevents is people dying."

Lifeboat's Lansing location is one of many sites where residents can pick up naloxone at no cost. Both the county and the state of Michigan publish maps showing where the medication is available anonymously, and the health department's Health and Resources Navigation Team can be reached at 517-887-4306 for help finding services.

What to do during an overdose

Naloxone restores breathing in an opioid overdose and has no effect on someone who is not experiencing one, which is why public health agencies urge bystanders to use it without hesitation. Symptoms that call for it include slow or stopped breathing, blue or gray lips and fingertips, limpness, and an inability to wake the person.

Public health guidance is to call 911, give the nasal spray, and stay with the person until help arrives. Because highly potent opioids are circulating in the supply, a second dose is sometimes needed. People who use drugs alone can call the National Overdose Prevention Line at 800-484-3731 to have someone on the line while they use.

The path after a reversal

Taylor said easy walk-in access to help matters more than any single message, because substance use disorder is common in families and social circles across the county.

"It reduces a lot of barriers, and that's true across the community," he said. "When you can walk in and gain easy access to recovery support services you're a lot more likely to do so."

Reversal is the first minutes of an overdose, not a treatment plan. People who survive an overdose can be connected to medication for opioid use disorder, counseling and opioid rehab programs that address the dependence behind the event.