Winnebago County review credits local programs as fatal overdoses fall 49% last year, but officials say work continues

Jennifer Skolaski, coordinator for the Winnebago County Overdose Fatality Review, told the City of Oshkosh Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee that the county recorded a 49% decrease in fatal overdoses last year but said the work to prevent deaths must continue.

Skolaski said the county recorded 24 fatal overdoses in the most recent year, and that figure still represents people “who are your neighbors, your family members, your friends.” She described the fatality review (OFR) as a confidential, multidisciplinary process that analyzes systemic and local touch points in overdose deaths to identify policies and interventions that could prevent future deaths.

The OFR, Skolaski said, began in April 2018 and now involves 49 partners representing 35 agencies across law enforcement, treatment and recovery, public health, health care, city and county services, education, faith communities and people with lived experience. “We…