With six overdose deaths in 48 hours, officials and organizations are working to keep community members alive.

Muskingum Behavioral Health, the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department and others are banding together to warn drug users of a possible bad batch of drugs that may be circulating through the community.

Wednesday afternoon, MBH posted about a Community Overdose Response Plan resulting from six overdose deaths that occurred in the county within two days.

According to the health department, those six deaths that occurred Monday and Tuesday bring the total overdose death toll in the county to 37 since the beginning of the year.

Director of MBH Steve Carrel said it’s possible that the overdoses are a result of bad fentanyl, although autopsy reports have yet to confirm that suspicion.

As a result of the increased number of drug-related fatalities, the Overdose Fatality Review Team, which is comprised of members from the health department, MBH, Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, Zanesville Police and Fire Departments, Muskingum County EMA, mental health and recovery services and emergency medical services have come together to increase awareness.

“One piece of the Community Overdose Response Plan includes the Overdose Fatality Review Team issuing an alert to increase community awareness and advise first responders, healthcare providers, of the increased risk for overdose in our community,” Jennifer Hiestand, Public Information Officer for the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department said. “This alert should serve as a notice to consider adjusting response capacity and implementing necessary protective measures.”

Carrel added that drug-users are encouraged to be more cautious of the substances they are putting in their bodies.

“Even if it’s just simply informing people who are addicted and using on the streets and telling them ‘you might want to be a little bit more suspicious about what you’re using or what you’re buying,’” Carrel said.

While the organization attempting to intervene in the situation would like to promote sobriety, Carrel said treatment for those who need it is no good if the person isn’t alive to participate.

“We want them to obviously get into recovery, but if you’re going to continue (using), we’d at least like to keep you alive,” Carrel said. “If somebody all of a sudden wants to go to treatment, I can’t treat somebody that’s dead.”

Anyone willing to share information about the drugs that caused the overdoses is encouraged to contact the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, the Zanesville Police Department, Muskingum Behavioral Health or the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department.

“We’re just trying to figure out what kind of things are coming in so that if there is something we can do about it, we will do something about it,” Carrel said.

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