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Hardin County coroner reports rise in caseload; QRT details outreach and harm-reduction work
Summary
The coroner's office reported a jump in case counts in July and described Quick Response Team outreach that distributed naloxone and conducted door-to-door engagement in overdose "hot spots." Officials said overdose-related deaths are down year-to-date compared with last year.
Hardin County Coroner Pat Elmore told the Fiscal Court Tuesday that the coroner's office handled 72 cases in June and 129 cases in July, and that the office has performed more autopsies than earlier in the year.
Elmore said the July increase included motor-vehicle collisions, overdoses involving oxycodone and hydrocodone, and a number of natural deaths. He noted one toxicology report remained pending at the time of his presentation.
Quick Response Team (QRT) officer Justin Blair gave a detailed account of the team's outreach. Blair said personnel received six referrals during the month and completed four referral responses. Since launching referral-response capability he said the team received 25 referrals year to date and could not respond to several calls because they were outside county limits, labeled dangerous, or involved HIPAA-restricted locations.
Blair described the "block-by-block" initiative that identifies overdose hot spots and sends teams to knock on doors, distribute resources and offer Narcan training. In July the team knocked on 58 doors, engaged with 21 community members and distributed ten two-dose Narcan kits; year-to-date totals were 165 doors knocked, 59 residents engaged and 39 two-dose kits distributed.
Blair described partnerships that brought a mobile Lincoln Trail District Health Department unit to support testing during outreach and said social-media outreach had reached large audiences: he reported more than 464,000 views, reach of over 125,000 individuals and more than 7,000 interactions on QRT content year to date.
He also said the QRT has assembled "leave-behind" kits for EMS to give people who refuse transport after an overdose; kits include naloxone, fentanyl test strips, a CPR face shield and resource information.
Coroner Elmore said county overdose deaths are down by 16 compared with the prior year through July, a trend he and the QRT hope continues.
Why it matters: officials said QRT contacts reduce repeat interactions with local emergency systems and hospitals and can save substantial costs; Blair cited studies presented in Washington, D.C., showing repeated QRT contacts are correlated with reduced system interactions and lower hospital charges.
Ending: The coroner and QRT asked for continued county support for outreach, training for suicide-attempt responses and partnership assistance from other county departments.
Quoted material in this article was taken from the coroner’s office presentation to the court.
