A rise in substance abuse in Alexandria causes concern

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- In 2020, 104 opioid overdoses were reported in Alexandria – a 42% increase from 2019. Emily Bentley, Opioid Response Coordinator for Alexandria City, confirmed a rise in overdoses across the state.

Opioid Campaign. Alexandria, Va. Photo from alexandria.gov

A Virginia Employment Commission document from July 16, 2021, reported almost 184,000 Virginians remained unemployed due to the pandemic. Cindy Estes, vice president for behavioral health nursing in the Inova Health System, noticed a new demographic of patients needing counseling and intervention for substance abuse – individuals from professional backgrounds. Estes stated in an email that as more people worked from home, they had easier access to substances and were less aware they were misusing. Social isolation contributed to the problem.

“Our patients often did not have family or friends to question their change in habits,” Estes said. “At the same time, we found that our patients, with known substance misuse, had limited strategies to safely and successfully work through their recovery because of the isolation.”

Bentley has worked in the field of substance abuse for 17 years. Now, she manages the Alexandria Opioid Workgroup, a large stakeholder group of multiple agencies in Fairfax County and Alexandria. The group is focused on changing the biases and stigmas surrounding substance abuse, so improvements can be made in serving this population, said Bentley.

“Every day we try to raise awareness that addiction can happen to anybody, and it is anybody,” Bentley said. “A high school football player who got a knee injury and is now taking Percocet in a misusing way. All the way to our mom and our grandmas.”

The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services released a statement on July 9, 2021, that raised concerns for patients needing care. Five out of eight state institutions for the mentally ill stopped accepting new patients due to the lack of staff and available beds.

Cynthia “Cindy” Estes, vice president nursing behavioral health, Alexandria, VA. Photo submitted by Cindy Estes.

Estes was among those concerned because of the impact on patient care and the Inova Health System. During the pandemic, Inova psychiatric beds remained full, new patients were admitted only after another patient was discharged, and timeframes for accepting aggressive patients were prolonged, Estes said. With state institutions stopping admissions, patient treatment will be further delayed.

During the pandemic, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous moved meetings online. The change negatively affected attendance and compliance because individuals did not adapt to an online presence, and many did not have access to computers and devices needed for the meetings, Estes said. As in person meetings become available, Bentley hopes more individuals will seek treatment.

Communities play a role in helping those dealing with substance abuse, Bentley acknowledged. Revive Virginia, a nonprofit, community-based organization, offers online and in person training on a regular basis. Participants learn how to spot an overdose and how to revive the person with Naloxone or Narcan. Registration can be found on the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services website.

Bentley noted the importance of everyday citizens carrying Narcan with them. Narcan is small enough to easily carry and is used as a nasal spray. Bentley recounted many stories of individuals being saved from an overdose because a community member administered Narcan. Even if citizens do not have a personal reason to carry Narcan, everyone should consider it. Any citizen administering Narcan to save a person from an overdose is protected under the Good Samaritan law, Bentley said.

“I like to think of it more as first aid and CPR. We don't all know people who have choked, or had a heart attack, or needed CPR, but we all take classes in it to know what to do if we ever happened to be someplace where we could save a life,” Bentley said. “Truthfully, it’s the exact same thing with Narcan.”