MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Opioid-related deaths in Horry County have declined significantly from 2016 to 2017, new data shows.
According to the South Carolina Opioid Emergency Response Team, 24 percent fewer people died from opioid overdoses in Horry County in 2017, compared to the year before. The data says 101 people in Horry County died from opioid-related deaths in 2016; in 2017, the number dropped to 77. In addition, Horry County was the only part of the state that showed improvement in opioid deaths- the death rates for all other metropolitan counties in South Carolina increased during that year.
Dr. Victor Archambeau, a family medicine physician and chairman of Faces and Voices of Recovery Grand Strand, or FAVOR, says the significant improvements in Horry County are in part, due to the collaborative efforts from law enforcement, local hospitals, and several prevention and recovery programs.
“All of these things are probably being done somewhere else, but for all of it to be done in a cooperative, coordinated effort, as we’re doing here, I think is kind of unusual,” Archambeau said.
South Carolina’s Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services says while they are unsure of the exact reasons for Horry County’s vast improvement in opioid-rated death rates, they agree that the collaboration of several Horry County entities, in addition to an improved community reaction, are contributing factors.
“People across the community (are) understanding that folks with this opioid issue need help and can be successful in achieving recovery if they’re helped properly; I think all of these things across the continuum have been incredibly vital to changing the trend there,” Sara Goldsby, Director of S.C.’s Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services said.
While the epidemic is far from over in Horry County, Dr. Archambeau is excited that everyone’s hard work is proving to save more lives everyday.
“To go from the worst county in the state, to the most improved county in the state in one year really indicates tremendous effort on the part of a lot of people,” Archambeau said.
To view the South Carolina Opioid Emergency Response Team’s data for all S.C. counties, click here.
To learn more about FAVOR Grand Strand and to view a schedule of their all-recovery meetings, click here.
