FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2019
Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf was joined today at the Opioid Operational Command Center at PEMA by Acting Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Lieutenant Colonel Robert Evanchick, York County District Attorney David Sunday, and others to recognize the one-year anniversary of the Pennsylvania Overdose Information Network (ODIN), and the positive impact the information-sharing tool has had on the commonwealth's progress and continuing fight against the opioid epidemic.
Launched in March 2018, ODIN is a centralized repository to track overdoses, naloxone administrations, and investigative drug information that allows police, public safety, and healthcare professionals to share all types of information related to opioid abuse in their communities. ODIN is now used by more than 1,300 agencies in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, including 1,000 municipal police departments.
"We are making progress in our battle against the opioid epidemic thanks to cooperation and collaboration at all levels and across all facets of government," said Governor Wolf. "Support from counties and municipalities for the sixteen state agencies and commissions that are part of the Opioid Operational Command Center is vital to our continued success."
The real-time information-sharing made possible by ODIN has proven to be a useful tool to aid in the apprehension of heroin and fentanyl distributors, by ensuring that actionable information does not slip through the cracks.
"ODIN was developed by the state police, but its success in the past year is directly attributable to the information supplied by its users throughout Pennsylvania," said Lieutenant Colonel Evanchick. "We are grateful to all who use the platform every day to provide crucial information from their individual areas of responsibility. Their contributions help to create a clear picture of the opioid-related issues that affect us all."
Lieutenant Colonel Evanchick pointed to York County as an example of ODIN's success. Law enforcement in York County has recorded 610 overdoses and 488 naloxone administrations since the system's inception.
"The effects of the opioid epidemic reach far beyond the boundaries of any one police department, agency, or county," said York County District Attorney David Sunday. "ODIN has proven to be a useful tool to standardize the way we collect and share crucial information."
ODIN was made possible through a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State Police and the Liberty Mid-Atlantic High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) and is available to all law enforcement agencies in the commonwealth. For agencies that are unable to enter their own information, county 911 centers have the capability to enter relevant data.
Soon, ODIN will add functionality allowing agencies to import legacy data from their own reporting systems, as well as the ability to export statistical data for integration into existing applications. The enhanced interoperability will produce more detailed and specific reports in individual communities.
Overdose and naloxone administration data is available to the public through Pennsylvania's Open Data Portal. The information can be used with other data collected throughout the state to better understand how the overdose epidemic continues to impact the commonwealth.
Gov. Wolf made the unprecedented step in 2018 to declare the heroin and opioid crisis a disaster and along with that established the Opioid Operational Command Center, a collective of 16 state agencies and various advocate and stakeholder groups working together to battle this crisis with recent indications of success.
The governor outlined efforts and progress when he signed the declaration's sixth 90-day renewal in March. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control indicates some parts of Pennsylvania saw a decrease in overdose deaths from 2017 to 2018.
In addition, since Gov. Wolf signed the opioid disaster declaration, data points to progress:
- Emergency medical service providers have administered 18,560 doses of naloxone, leaving behind 657 doses;
- Hospitals and birthing centers have reported 2,359 cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome in newborns;
- More than 1,500 birth certificate fees have been waived for patients to get into treatment;
- More than 19,300 residents have been admitted to emergency rooms because of a suspected opioid or heroin overdose; and
- The Get Help Now hotline has received more than 19,500 calls looking for information or to connect someone with a local treatment provider.
- More than 258 tons of drugs were collected and destroyed by law enforcement from the more than 800 drug take-back boxes across the commonwealth.
More on how the Wolf Administration is battling the opioid epidemic can be found here. More on opioid use disorder treatment and services can be found here.
MEDIA CONTACTS: J.J. Abbott, 717-783-1116
Ryan Tarkowski (PSP), PSP, 717-783-5556
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