New Bedford Has Fourth Highest Opioid-Related Death Rate in State for 2015
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has released a report, detailing the number of opioid-related deaths the state has seen in the past several years.
On the Southcoast, 48 people died in New Bedford in 2015 as a direct result of an opioid overdose. That's up from 27 opioid-related deaths in 2014. The city saw the fourth highest number of opioid-related deaths in the state last year, behind Boston, Worcester and Lowell.
In Dartmouth, only one person died from an overdose last year, compared to six in 2014.
There were six opiod-related deaths in 2015 in Fairhaven, compared to just one in the town in 2014.
Acushnet experienced three fatal overdoses last year, with none being reported the year before.
The DPH report, released earlier this month, says Massachusetts saw 237 more deaths in 2015 than the year before, with a total of 1,531 fatal overdoses. That's an 18% increase.