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Addressing rising opioid deaths among seniors citizens in the Tampa Bay area

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Published  February 8, 2025 4:37pm EST
Tampa
FOX 13 News

Seniors most impacted by opioids

FOX 13's Briona Arradondo explains the push for opioid recovery and prevention in the Tampa Bay area.

The Brief

    • Addressing the amount of rising opioid deaths among seniors citizens in the Tampa Bay area.
    • Hillsborough County's Health Care Services are looking to fund programs to address the opioid crisis.
    • They are calling for applications to use $25 million from an opioid settlement awarded to Florida.

TAMPA - New data from the Florida Department of Health and FDLE shows seniors in the Tampa Bay region are dying at higher rates from opioid overdoses than young people, according to the nonprofit Live Tampa Bay.

"What is unique to our area is the persistence of people 65 and older dying. I think in the imagination of most people including myself before looking at the data I would think that an average person who suffers from substance abuse is maybe 20s, 30-year-olds," said Jennifer Webb, CEO of Live Tampa Bay. "The top cohort that’s dying is the prime workforce age group, which is 35 to 54. But the second-largest group cohort are our seniors."

Addressing the amount of rising opioid deaths among seniors citizens in the Tampa Bay area.

Webb leads Live Tampa Bay, a nonprofit that focuses on addiction treatment and recovery resources. She said FDOH and FDLE recently released their data for 2023, and the data shows deaths are increasing over the last three years of data when it comes to seniors. 

Florida passed a law in 2018 limiting the supply of opioids to three days, or a seven-day supply if certain conditions are met. 

What they're saying:

"Are these people in the suburbs who are silently suffering? Are these folks on the street who have been using intravenous drugs for a long time? Are these grandparents who have chronic pain who overtake pain medicine?" said Webb.

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But she said outreach in Tampa Bay is lacking.

"We need to understand what’s going on with this population, and then we need to develop programs with them specifically in mind," said Webb.

That's where Hillsborough County’s Health Care Services comes in.

"We know with the Hillsborough County medical examiner’s office that 400 to 600 people annually overdose here in Hillsborough County," said Kevin Wagner, the director of health care services with Hillsborough County government.

Wagner said this month the county wants program submissions for education, prevention, treatment and recovery.

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"I think we can do a better job on the education and prevention opportunity. We really want to reduce the stigma," said Wagner.

He said they will be funded over two years using $25 million from a class-action settlement against pharmaceutical companies’ role in the opioid crisis, part of $127 million the county will get over the next 18 years.

Both Wagner and Webb have personal ties to the epidemic.

"My stepsister died about four years ago. She had valium laced with fentanyl, and she took it and overdosed," said Wagner.

Live Tampa Bay plans to apply. Webb said it's a lifeline for the community and agencies that serve them.

Addressing the amount of rising opioid deaths among seniors citizens in the Tampa Bay area.

"It impacted my family, and we lost my little sister to the opioid epidemic. So, it’s really important that we come together as a community right now and get this money out the door," said Webb.

Organizations have until Feb. 26 by 5 p.m. to apply.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Briona Arradondo.

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