Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Addressing the social and behavioral health of local residents is one of the areas that the Jefferson County Health Department is working to improve, says Administrator Kim Allbritton.
The task, Allbritton says, includes providing mental health and substance abuse data to residents, which she does in the department’s January newsletter.
Allbritton notes that when comparing the Jefferson County numbers to those of the state and larger counties, it’s necessary to convert the figures to a rate of per 100,000 population.
She cites for example Jefferson County’s four suicides in 2020, which made it the fifth highest rate of suicide per 100,000 population in the state. The fact is, she says, that small as Jefferson County’s population is, it should have had zero or at most one suicide during the year.
“The number in 2020 was too high compared to the number of people who live in Jefferson County,” Allbritton says.
The 2020 suicides, she notes, occurred equally among males and females, and split evenly between the ages of 15 to 19 and 75 and older. All occurred with the use of a firearm.
“This data shows a need for more prevention and intervention for depression with teens and with those who are ages 65-plus,” Allbritton writes.
In terms of mental disorder hospitalizations, Jefferson County ranked seventh highest is the state, with most of the hospitalized cases being for schizophrenic and depression disorders.
Allbritton notes that in 2020, the county had an estimated 483 adults who were seriously mentally ill and 115 youth ages nine to 17 who were seriously disturbed emotionally. She further notes that resources are available for those who suffer mental health or substance abuse issues.
Among the available resources that she lists are Apalachee Center, Capital Regional Medical Center, Disc Village, Tallahassee Counseling Center, and Avalon Treatment Centers. Call the Health Department at (850) 342-0170 for the complete list.
Come April, Allbritton says, the department will be conducting an anonymous survey of county residents that will include a mental health and substance use component in order to refine the provision of local services. Substance use, she underscores, includes prescribed and non-prescribed drugs, which is broken down into two categories: opioids and all other drugs.
A summary of substance use data for Jefferson County in 2020 shows five fatal overdoses, one of which was opioid related; 24 EMS responses to suspected non-fatal drug overdoses, including five opioid-related overdoses; 72 drug-related arrests, one of them involving a child; and 4,113 opioid prescriptions dispensed to 1,343 local residents.
As of 2021, 49 adults and 353 children in Jefferson County were enrolled in substance abuse programs, according to the data.
Finally, eight alcohol or drug confirmed motor vehicle crashes occurred in Jefferson County in 2019, resulting in two fatalities.
For more information on the statistics, visit the Florida CHARTS website substance abuse dashboard at https://www. flhealthcharts.gov/ChartsDashboards/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=SubstanceUse.Overview