The DART unit of the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office is adding an officer to work with older residents and opioid addiction, a novel partnership billed as among the first of its kind in the country.
Deputy Sheriff Jeff Medere, who retired from the Maumee Police Department in 2018, will join the Drug Abuse Response Team as a sworn peace officer employed by the Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio.
The office has been concerned about the opioid epidemic’s effect on older residents for some time, said Billie Johnson, who heads the organization.
“There’s a lot of attention given to this problem among younger people and family members,” she said, but less focus on older residents, calling them an overlooked population related to opioid abuse and overdose.
“We decided we had to do more education about drug addiction, about opioid use, and about medications with older adults,” she said. “We’re delighted to partner with the sheriff.”
Deputy Medere will offer addiction education to seniors, as well as investigative resources as needed. The area office on aging will develop a curriculum for peer educators during events at senior centers, senior living facilities, and libraries.
“Education is huge, just like when we’re dealing with younger kids in schools,” said Deputy Medere, who was involved with youth education while an officer in Maumee. “People don’t realize the old folks have a problem because they’ve been taking [prescription opioids] like the doctor told them.”
He said he was eager to bring his law enforcement experience to an older crowd.
The DART unit previously has partnered with peace officers from other area institutions, including Mercy Health and Toledo Lucas County Public Library, to expand the reach of opioid-related resources in the area.
Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp said older adults, particularly those with pain management concerns after multiple surgeries, are especially at risk for abuse and addiction. They are also susceptible to medication theft from family members or others.
“Many of us think, ‘That’s not possible for seniors to be doing that,’ but we all know it’s happening,” Sheriff Tharp said.
Ms. Johnson said the decision to pursue a DART officer position at the aging office was inspired in part by research from Bowling Green State University about addiction in older adults.
Nancy Orel, executive director of research for BGSU’s Optimal Aging Institute, was struck by the number of seniors dying of overdose reported by area coroner offices. She found more than 4 in 10 overdose deaths were in people older than 45, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While other age groups have seen some improvement in death rates, those 55-64 years old had the greatest increase in overdose deaths per 100,000 people, she said.
“Part of it is attributed to prevention messages haven’t gotten to older population,” she said, and lauded Lucas County’s efforts.
First Published March 18, 2019, 4:47 p.m.
