As opioid-related deaths rise in the United States, so has the role of synthetic opioids — primarily illicit fentanyl, mixed into heroin or made into counterfeit pills. 

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The number of Americans who have died in the ongoing opioid epidemic continues to climb. Between September 2016 and September 2017, more than 45,600 Americans died from overdoses involving opioids. The number of fatal opioid-related overdoses in D.C. more than doubled between 2015 and 2016, and continued to rise in 2017. While Baltimore has not yet published its final numbers for the previous year, preliminary data for the first three quarters of 2017 suggests a similar trend.

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Whether it’s night or day, opioid overdoses in Baltimore are an around-the-clock epidemic. Especially when fentanyl is mixed in; a drug 50 to 100 times more powerful than heroin.

According to Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, “Since 2013, we’ve gone from 12 fentanyl deaths in one year to 500.”

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Baltimore hospitals will have new incentives for better addressing the opioid crisis—and sharing best practices with their counterparts across the city—under a new initiative announced by the city's top officials Monday. 

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