(WSIL) -- The opioid crisis took a backseat to COVID-19 last year but it doesn't mean the problem is eradicated.
In 2019, the Illinois Department of Public Health recorded 2,219 opioid overdoses deaths. In 2020, IDPH tracked 2,944 opioid overdose fatalities, an increase of 32.7%.
Those numbers have experts across the state looking for ways to decrease those numbers. Dr. Brent Jones, a family physician at SIH Family Care in Harrisburg, says addiction can happen to anyone.
"We know 20% of those people who have exposure to narcotics are going to become an addictive person," Jones said. "We have not only enabled that but potentially caused a lifelong issue."
Jones is part of the Illinois Rural Health Summit group which looks for ways to improve healthcare in rural parts of the state. Jones says southern Illinois is an 'opioid treatment desert' that could use more resources and medical providers.
"You're not going to have much change in your overdose levels because there's going to be a lot less NARCAN prescribing," Jones said.
The group's goal should be to reduce harm and save lives, according to Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly. One idea Kelly suggested is making sure officers on opioid calls are assisted with medical professionals.
"Professionals that have a social services background, that have a medical background," Kelly said. "We want to see them break that cycle of addiction.
James Sparks, a former addict and current behavioral healthcare manager for Shawnee Health Services, says getting over an addition takes strength. Sparks says offering help can give addicts the strength to overcome.
"Whether we started out as somebody with chronic pain and have become addicted we look at where that change initially started and try to get back to a normal mindset," Sparks said.
The group made three recommendations. Those include increasing the availability medications like remote counseling and virtual treatment, engage justice-involved populations to reduce opioid use and sustain and expand harm reduction services in rural areas.
