Sauk County Group Works to Prevent Overdose

The Sauk County Overdose Death Review Team is celebrating its 5-year anniversary. Since 2018, the group has been reviewing drug overdose deaths that happen in the county to find out where supports are needed to prevent loss of life in the future. The team identifies gaps and barriers in service delivery, causes of death, and prevention strategies. With this information, the review team develops recommendations for policy and program changes at local and state levels. In its first 5 years, the team has made 49 recommendations to prevent overdose deaths. 94% of these recommendations have been partially or fully put in place.

The Sauk County Overdose Death Review Team includes representatives from 26 departments and agencies, including 6 Sauk County departments, 4 local police departments, 3 EMS agencies, 3 statewide organizations, 3 healthcare organizations, 2 peer support agencies, a pharmacy, and the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Health. 

“The Sauk County Overdose Death Review Team has made many life-saving improvements over the last five years,” says Joshua Kowalke, Director of the Reedsburg Area Ambulance Service and a founding member of the team. “The team is comprised of many people from different disciplines who have brought many great ideas to the table. It has been rewarding to be part of the team from a personal and organizational level.”

Another team member is Janet Fritsch, pharmacist and owner of Corner Drug Hometown Pharmacy. “I am in awe of the people on this team who work every day to make a difference in our community,” Fritsch says. “These professionals listen to each other and work together to implement changes that influence lives in Sauk County.”

The Sauk County Overdose Death Review Team makes recommendations in prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support to reduce overdose deaths and create a more supportive community for all. For example, a few of the recommendations involve Emergency Medical Services: Response Teams and the Narcan Leave Behind Program.

Response Teams, composed of 2 EMS providers and a peer recovery coach, follow up with house visits to people seen by EMS for substance use-related incidents in an effort to streamline a connection to treatment and harm reduction services. The Narcan Leave Behind Program allows EMS providers to leave a lifesaving medication, Narcan Nasal Spray, with anyone at risk of opioid overdose. “This is a great way for EMS to provide a valuable resource to people in the community when they witness people who may need Narcan in the future,” Kowalke says. 

Contact Public Health Sauk County at 608-355-3290 to find out how you can support the recommendations of the Sauk County Overdose Death Review Team to prevent substance use and encourage recovery in our community.