Trumbull coroner says office is overwhelmed with overdoses

April 7, 2017 at 12:10a.m.

WARREN

There were 13 fatal suspected drug overdoses in Trumbull County just since last Saturday, county coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk said Thursday.

The coroner’s office still is awaiting autopsy and toxicology results to determine the precise causes of death, however, said chief investigator Shelley Mazanetz.

These deaths follow in the wake of a record-high overdose spike last month in the county.

In March, Trumbull County saw 189 opioid overdoses, according to the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board.

That compares with 45 in February and 75 in January. Of those 189 people who overdosed in March, most were revived with the antidote naloxone, a news release states.

But, not everyone is fortunate enough to survive.

Dr. Germaniuk, who has lobbied for additional funding to his department, said the coroner’s office is overwhelmed by the fallout from opioid deaths.

“We’re being crushed by the workload,” he said. “There is no help on the horizon.”

Dr. Germaniuk believes the problem is exacerbated by a national shortage of forensic pathologists.

“The system is getting ready to collapse under its own weight,” he said.

Hubbard City Councilman Benjamin Kyle said the opioid epidemic has a “ripple effect” in local communities, including his.

“It’s not just the one person; it’s the friends, it’s the families,” Kyle said. “They often wonder after the fact if there was more they could have done. Addiction has a hold on so many people. I think people turned a blind eye for a while, but now it’s affecting so many walks of life and so many socioeconomic classes.”