CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — Candidates running for the position of coroner in Clarion County weren’t the only featured event at Friday morning’s Clarion Chamber of Business and Industry Fall Legislative Breakfast at the Park Inn by Radisson.

Dr. Ray Feroz (pictured above), Clarion University professor and chair of the Department of Human Services, Rehabilitation, Health, and Sports Sciences, and Carrie Bence with the Armstrong-Indiana-Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission, both spoke of the opioid crisis that has enveloped the country and western Pennsylvania in particular.

“Can we kick this?” Feroz said. “According to the Wall Street Journal, there were 33,000 opioid-related deaths in the U.S.in 2015 and in 2017, those deaths are expected to reach 71,000.”

“The synthetic opioid fentanyl is the chief culprit in overdose deaths, according to medical examiners, law enforcement, and health experts,” Feroz said. “Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin and it is a major problem in hot spots such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia and New England.”

Feroz also quoted figures from an Erie Times-News report that said hospital admissions for opioid-related deaths have increased by 66 percent in Pennsylvania since 2014.

“Colleges are dealing with it too in major proportions,” Feroz said. “Colleges are redirecting their entire health services because of what’s going on with the opioid epidemic.”

Feroz explained that despite the dire statistics, he believes things could be headed in the right direction.

“We need to keep talking about it, we need to understand it’s more of a problem than street junkies shooting up, it’s happening to our kids, children of doctors, judges,” Feroz said. “But overall, the amount of opioid prescriptions is down 15 percent from a few years ago and with the lawsuits being filed I believe the days of pharmacies heavily distributing opioid painkillers are numbered.”

Bence spoke about the non-profit Drug and Alcohol Commission’s efforts in the battle against the opioid epidemic.

“We just started an on-call pilot program in Indiana County where overdose victims can speak with specialists about the importance of getting treatment,” Bence said. “Sometimes when EMTs or police respond to an overdose, a family member has already given them NARCAN and they don’t feel they need to do anything else, but clearly, that’s not the case.”

Bence said she also believes the state-mandated prescription drug monitoring program is having an effect and will continue to do so. The program allows pharmacies to keep track of how many prescriptions a person is filling at different locations.

She said she’d also like to see less stigma attached to those addicted to opiates.

“We need to stop calling them addicts. They are victims, they need help and this is important if we are going to improve this situation by any great degree.”

Feroz also spoke about Clarion University’s new Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Screening program and its Certificate for becoming an Opioid Treatment Specialist.

The Masters in Clinical Mental Health is a 60-credit course that is billed for busy adults who can’t regularly travel to campus. Almost all coursework is online and the program leads to eligibility for the licensed professional counselor credential in Pa.

The opioid treatment specialist certificate is an online, 12-credit course that is designed for professionals who want to strengthen their credentials and current students who want to graduate with stronger job prospects.