But the area’s most populous county was held back from an even higher ranking by the prevalence of accidental overdose deaths tied to the rampant heroin and opioid drug epidemic sweeping Ohio and much of the rest of the nation. The mortality rate from drug overdose deaths in Montgomery County jumped to 46 out of every 1,000 residents this year, compared to 41 out of every 1,000 in 2016, according to the report, which was produced in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute.
| County | Drug Overdose Mortality Rate | State Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | 46 | 1 |
| Butler | 43 | 4 |
| Clark | 36 | 9 |
| Greene | 23 | 30 |
| Champaign | 21 | 36 |
| Warren | 18 | 48 |
| Miami | 16 | 56 |
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“We continue to see too many unintentional drug overdose deaths in this community,” said Jeff Cooper, health commissioner at Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County. “If you look at the leading causes of death they are cancer and heart disease, but the third leading cause is accidents of all types. And when you break that down, unintended drug overdose deaths are the leading factor.”
Even counties with much higher overall health rankings were not immune from the devastation of drug overdoses.
Nearby Greene County, which saw its overall health ranking climb four spots from last year to No. 13 this year, also saw one of the biggest spikes in its drug overdose mortality rate, which rose from 19 out of 1,000 in 2016 to 23 out of 1,000 this year, according to the report.
| County | Overall Health Ranking |
|---|---|
| Warren | 6 |
| Greene | 13 |
| Miami | 26 |
| Champaign | 35 |
| Butler | 48 |
| Clark | 73 |
| Montgomery | 77 |
“We are seeing the ripple effect of drug overdose deaths that have been steadily increasing in our community,” said Kirsten Bean, a health education program manager at Greene County Public Health. “There’s such a stigma related to drug use, people are afraid to reach out and get help. For somebody struggling with a lethal addiction that can become literally a matter of life and death.”
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Bean and her colleagues actively promote the community-based overdose education and naloxone distribution program known as project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone) as a way to combat overdoses.
But much more needs to be done, she said: “There is a really high need for even better collaboration. It takes the whole community reaching out to people struggling with drug abuse and addiction.”
In Montgomery County, the Community Overdose Action Team (COAT) was formed last year to slow the number of overdose deaths in the county.
But Cooper said stemming the tide of overdose deaths is just part of the county’s overall community health improvement plan, which focuses on such things as chronic disease prevention, lowering the infant mortality rate, and getting more people to quit smoking.
| County | % Low Birth Weight | % Adult Smokers | % Adult Obese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | 8 | 19 | 33 |
| Champaign | 7 | 18 | 37 |
| Clark | 8 | 20 | 32 |
| Greene | 8 | 18 | 31 |
| Miami | 7 | 19 | 34 |
| Montgomery | 9 | 19 | 33 |
| Warren | 7 | 15 | 30 |
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According to the health rankings, Montgomery County is making progress in several of those areas, including the share of adult smokers, which fell from 21 percent in 2016 to 19 percent this year. But local health officials there’s still work to be done.
“Too many of our adults continue to use tobacco,” Cooper said. “We are encouraged by the trend moving in the desired direction, but we’re not satisfied. We want more measurable improvement. That’s why we continue to promote a 100 percent tobacco-free environment in our offices. Those are the kinds of policy changes that long-term can help us become healthier as a community.”
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