MANCHESTER, NH – Things are still cranking away as usual here on the opiate and Safe Station front. There has been some talk as to whether Safe Station and Granite Hammer have had an impact on the overdose rates here in Manchester, since numbers seem to continually climb. Well, I am proud to say that for the first time since Safe Station rolled out in May, we have two consecutive months of data that shows a drop, compared to 2015 data.
This is even with stronger drugs and drug variants being out there on the streets of our city.
Out of curiosity, I plotted out the data sets for you to be able to see side-by-side from both years. That chart is at the top of the story.
Safe Station: By the Numbers
Announced on May 4, 2016, the Manchester Fire Department began providing a service to those suffering from Substance Misuse Disorder named “Safe Station”. The purpose of this program is to provide a starting point to aid in the treatment and recovery from Opiate and Drug Addiction.
- Number of requests at MFD for Safe Station: 519
- Number of participants transported to Hospitals: 48
- Number of participants taken to HOPE for NH: 347
- Number of participants taken to Serenity Place: 120
- Average Length of Time AMR/MFD Company “Not Available”: 12 minutes
- Number of UNIQUE participants: 435
- Number of REPEAT entries: 84
- Age Range of Participants: 18-69
- Referring MFD Station Breakdown:
- CENTRAL: 416
- STATION 6: 20
- STATION 5: 17
- STATION 2: 16
- STATION 10: 16
- STATION 7: 12
- STATION 3: 7
- STATION 9: 6
- STATION 4: 5
- STATION 8: 3
- Number of participants seen for ODs prior to seeking SS Help: 101
Christopher Hickey is Director of Emergency Services for the City of Manchester.
