COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio’s overdose death rate climbed by 39 percent from 3,763 deaths for the 12- month period ending in July 2016 to 5,256 overdose deaths for the 12 months ending in July 2017, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control on Friday.
Only the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania and Florida saw larger percentage increases than Ohio.
In that same yearlong period, Indiana saw a 27.8 percent jump from 1,383 to 1767 drug overdose deaths. Kentucky rose 14 percent from 1,376 to 1,568.
RELATED: Greater Cincinnati overdose deaths rose again last year, preliminary data show
“Ohio can and must do better to end the needless suffering caused by the grip of addiction and overdose deaths,” said Lori Criss, CEO of the Ohio Council of Behavioral Health Providers. “We need a full continuum of treatment and recovery services in every community, and we need prevention and early intervention services in every school.”
The complete data set for all 50 states is available at the website here. The report notes that these numbers are provisional, meaning they're often incomplete and causes of death may be pending investigation.
