GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Brown County leaders say their work to create awareness and provide resources on the dangerous opioid and fentanyl crisis remains a top priority.
And while Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach proclaimed Monday to be Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day, officials say they’ve been working on a plan to address this deadly crisis all year.
Earlier this year, the Brown County Public Health Department established a task force to develop action plans around prevention, response and recovery. Those plans are expected to become available by the end of the year.
Health officials also developed a data task force group to understand the true number of overdoses in the community. The group is discussing how the information collected can be useful to the public.
In addition, the health department has held community listening sessions to get public feedback, as well as sent out educational mailers to all Brown County residents in February and put up billboards and created PSA’s to be aired during Packers and NFL games.
“Brown County is committed to doing many of the things that are necessary for our community to have a conversation, and it really starts there — it’s having a conversation with your family members, your loved ones, your children, to discuss the dangers of fentanyl,” said Streckenbach.
In 2018, Brown County had 24 drug overdose deaths with just nine of those, or 37% involving fentanyl. Last year, those numbers grew to 66 drug overdose deaths with 53 of those, approximately 80%, involving fentanyl.
