Statewide Iowa — A couple of Iowa health experts say the increase in opioid deaths in the state is alarming but they are confident things can turn around.
University of Iowa professor of psychiatry and emergency medicine, Gerard Clancy says nearly 30 percent of their clinic and emergency room visits are now related to psychiatric and addiction needs.
Clancy says one of the problems is opioids are now laced with highly-potent fentanyl.
But he says he is confident they can make progress and says mental and substance use disorders are treatable conditions, and he urges Iowans who are struggling to seek help. Alison Lynch is the director of the opioid addiction clinic at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. She says fentanyl is a serious issue.
But she says there are treatment options, and she encourages Iowans who are struggling to seek help.
The Iowa Department of Public Health estimates that fentanyl deaths rose from 31 percent of all overdoses in 2016 to 87 percent in 2021. The two spoke during an update on the opioid epidemic Thursday by Attorney General Tom Miller.
