NASHUA, NH – This week, 2020 statistics for opioid deaths and Safe Station were released for Nashua and Manchester, with significant year-over-year decreases in both of the Granite State’s two largest cities.
Despite the end of Nashua’s Safe Station program in June, the Gate City saw its suspected opioid overdoses decrease by 23 percent in 2020 from 2019. Manchester saw a 28 percent decrease.
Approximately one-in-five overdoses in Nashua included a layperson administering Narcan to the victim prior to the arrival of first responders last year, a figure comparable in 2019. In contrast, Manchester saw three-in-ten overdoses with Narcan administered before first-responders arrived on scene, a 12 percent increase from 2019. Both cities saw a spike near the beginning of the pandemic.
Narcan, also known as Naxalone, is a medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose and can reverse and block the effects of other opioids.
In 2020, Manchester had 32 suspected fatal opioid overdoses and an additional seven pending further investigation compared to Nashua’s 22.
“Across the country, communities saw opioid overdoses spike amid COVID-19. However, here in Manchester, we saw a 28 percent decrease in opioid overdoses and 42 percent decrease in opioid overdose deaths. There’s still much more to do, but this is a positive step in working to continue decreasing opioid overdoses in our city,” said Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig. “There are many organizations who make our system of care work, and through this collaboration, change is being made. American Medical Response, The Manchester Fire, Police and Health Departments, Farnum Center, Elliot Hospital, Catholic Medical Center, the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, Makin’ It Happen, Families in Transition – New Horizons, Granite United Way, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and others have continued to work with the city to develop a system that is saving lives.”
Additional statistics from American Medical Response can be found below.
