First Metro Richmond 'Spike Alert' issued
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A new warning system designed to alert residents of the Metro Richmond region to an increase in opioid overdoses issued its first alert May 22.
The notice Sunday night from the Metro Richmond Spike Alert system, a partnership between the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts, the Richmond Ambulance Authority and the Chesterfield County Health District, was triggered by higher than normal overdoses in Henrico County, Henrico Fire Captain Michael Roth told the Citizen Tuesday.
The participating localities announced the system in late April both as a way to warn the public of a rise in overdoses and also to warn those who may abuse the drugs about the presence of more lethal varieties of them locally.
“RHHD issues the Spike Alert when we receive a notification from one of our partners [Richmond Ambulance Authority, Henrico County, or Chesterfield County] when they observe a spike in overdoses,” RHHD spokesperson Cat Long told the Citizen. “Each of our partners have defined their own localized threshold for what is considered a spike in their jurisdiction and then monitor their data and alert RHHD accordingly.”
In Henrico, officials have programmed their EMS reporting software to flag on a daily basis every EMS overdose response that results in naloxone (a nasal spray that can treat an overdose) being administered and having an effect on the subject.
Every three months, officials calculate the mean number of overdoses per day during the previous quarter, then use three standard deviations from that mean number to signify a spike. Currently, five or more non-fatal overdoses in one day in Henrico will trigger the spike alert system, Roth said.
Fatal overdoses are not included in the county’s calculation when determining if a spike alert is issued, Roth said, because any spike in fatal overdoses almost always would be accompanied by many more non-fatal ones that would trigger the system on their own.
When a spike in overdoses is noted, officials will not publicly report specific locations within the county or region where they occurred, Roth said.
Though only 103 people were signed up to receive the first alert, according to RHHD spokesperson Cat Long, many of them were members of the media, representatives from community organizations or activists who then shared the message within their own broad spheres of influence. The participating agencies also post the alerts on their social media sites, she said.
Officials formed the alert system after an increase in overdoses. It’s designed only to warn of opioid-related overdoses, which tend to account for the lion’s share of overdoses in most localities. In Henrico, Roth said, about 75% of all drug overdoses are related to opioids – “and the vast majority of those are fentanyl-related,” he said, referring to a synthetic opioid that is as much as 100 times stronger than morphine.
People are more vulnerable to opioid overdoses if they have had previous overdoses, are using opioids alone or are returning to use after having not used for awhile, according to the RHHD.
Signs of a possible overdose include unresponsiveness, deep snoring or gurgling, grey or blue fingertips and lips, and/or no breathing or abnormal breathing, according to the agency.
Free naloxone, along with training about how to use it, is available from the Henrico Mental Health and Developmental Services by calling (804) 727-8515 and from the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts by calling (804) 592-8069.
The RHHD also offers a free twice-monthly naloxone training through Zoom at 7 p.m. on. the first Tuesday of each month and 1 p.m. on the last Thursdays of each month. To view one, visit zoom.us/join at one of those times and enter meeting ID 514 839 4896 and passcode I5S2M8.
To sign up for the Metro Richmond Spike Alert system, click here.
