Scott Declares Florida Opioid Epidemic Public Health Emergency

TAMPA, FL — Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a statewide public health emergency related to the opioid epidemic. In signing an emergency order on Wednesday, Scott paved the way for the state to rapidly access $27 million in federal grant funding to help with prevention, treatment and recovery support efforts.

“I know firsthand how heartbreaking substance abuse can be to a family because it impacted my own family growing up,” Scott said in a Wednesday statement. “The individuals struggling with drug use are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends and each tragic case leaves loved ones searching for answers and praying for help.”

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The $27 million in grant funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on April 21 to help in the state’s continued efforts against opioid abuse. Wednesday’s order was necessary, a media release from the governor’s office said, because “it would have taken months for the state to distribute these funds to local communities.”

In addition to issuing the order, Scott also directed state Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip to issue a standing order for Naloxone, an emergency treatment that can save the lives of people who have overdosed on opioids. That direction is meant to help make certain "first responders have immediate access to this lifesaving drug to respond to opioid overdoses," Scott's statement explained.

A series of workshops related to the opioid epidemic was staged by Scott over the past week or so. During those workshops, state officials met with local counterparts in Manatee, Palm Beach, Duval and Orange counties “to identify additional strategies to fight the rising opioid usage causes in Florida.”

The emergency order was issued on the heel of those meetings and following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declaring a national opioid epidemic.

Opioids are a class of drugs that include illegal narcotics, such as heroin, and prescription painkillers like oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and fentanyl, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Although effective for treating pain when prescribed by a doctor, the institute acknowledges the drugs are linked to addictions and are “frequently misused because they produce euphoria in addition to pain relief.”

The Florida Medical Examiners Commission produces an annual report on drug-associated deaths within the state. In its 2015 annual report, released in September 2016, the commission noted the total of drug-related deaths across the state shot up in 2015 by 13.9 percent, or 1,197 people, when compared to numbers from 2014. A total of 5,364 people in the Sunshine State died in 2015 with “one or more prescription drugs in their system,” the report noted. That number was up by 12.4 percent compared with 2014.

There were a total of 779 deaths across the state of Florida that involved heroin, according to the commission’s report. The West Palm Beach area led the state with 158 deaths directly attributed to heroin. Other high incident rates, based on medical examiner office districts, were found in such areas as:

• Orlando – 105 deaths caused by heroin
• Miami – 83 deaths caused by heroin
• Fort Lauderdale – 76 deaths caused by heroin
• Sarasota/Bradenton – 61 deaths caused by heroin
• Tampa – 33 deaths caused by heroin

Based on its population and number of reported overdoses, Manatee County has been considered the epicenter of the state’s heroin crisis. Last October, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office issued a plea to the public about the warnings of heroin and opioid use. Between Jan. 1, 2016, and Oct. 18, 2016, the agency's deputies had fielded 891 heroin overdose calls. Sixty of those called resulted in deaths, according to the sheriff's office.

To read the commission’s full 2015 report, visit the Florida Department of Law Enforcement online. To see Scott’s order, visit the governor’s office online.

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