A year ago, local leaders declared opioid overdoses an emergency — a deadly crisis on par with an earthquake or some other natural disaster.
That meant marshaling government forces throughout Snohomish County: police and paramedics, medical professionals and social workers. Since then, there’s been progress, though much unfinished work remains.
The multi-agency effort is credited with helping train hundreds of people to save lives with overdose-reversal drugs; to slash toxicology turnaround times, giving families and detectives answers after deaths; and to secure millions of dollars for a job-training program tailored toward addicts and people struggling with homelessness...“For every person that our firefighters and paramedics help, there is a complex story that needs an entire community’s response,” South County Fire Chief Bruce Stedman said in a prepared statement.