Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin and Lehigh County Drug and Alcohol Administrator Layne Turner recently announced a new program called Blue Guardian to help in the fight against opioids and substance abuse.

According to information provided by Martin’s office, Blue Guardian is an initiative between Martin, the Lehigh County Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center, police departments in Lehigh County, and the Lehigh County Department of Drug and Alcohol.

“The program will endeavor to use the existing relationships between police and their communities to assist individuals and their families plagued by opioid addiction in accessing treatment,” Martin said.

According to Martin, Blue Guardian will be a component in the larger Illicit Drug Identification and Tracking System being developed by RIIC Director Julia Kocis and software consultants from Computer Aid Inc.

The RIIC received a $250,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to create the IDITS application as a better mechanism for data collection and analysis of drug-related investigations and deaths, drug trends, emergence of new drugs, and those drugs of greatest concern.

An additional $125,000 was provided by the Lehigh County Department of Drug and Alcohol through the Opioid State Targeted Response Funding and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Program.

Law enforcement can enter information on naloxone administration, and the data will be available to resources assigned to perform treatment outreach.

In 2014, the General Assembly enacted Act 139, which provides immunity from prosecution for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia for someone who experiences a drug overdose.

This immunity extends to any individual who seeks medical assistance for the overdose individual so long as certain criteria are satisfied.

“With this Act, our commonwealth sought to encourage friends, families, and/or bystanders to summon assistance where in the past they may have hesitated to do so for fear of prosecution,” Martin said. “I want to assure everyone that this act will be scrupulously followed, and no such prosecution will be pursued in Lehigh County.

“Blue Guardian will be implemented using data obtained after officers of local police departments administer naloxone, the medication which reverses an opioid overdose.”

Naloxone has been used more than 200 times per year by Lehigh County police departments, he added.

Currently after an overdose reversal, the individual is transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.

Through existing programs, these individuals are provided the opportunity to access treatment. Unfortunately, many times individuals do not accept the offered resources and return home.

Blue Guardian is a home support visit program, which will occur 48-72 hours after the initial event.

“A uniformed police officer and a Certified Recovery Specialist, from Treatment Trends, a local substance abuse treatment provider, will go to the home and reengage the individual or family and provide resources to both, (The face-to-face contact will be made by an officer of the police department where the individual resides, which may differ from where the incident occurred),” Martin stated.

Martin said by joining law enforcement and treatment supports together in meeting an individual and their family members where they live, barriers and obstacles that exist can be lessened.

Concurrently, support can be given to those in need, he added.

Martin said the ultimate goal is twofold: getting the individual into the treatment needed and providing resources to the person’s family.

Lehigh County finished 2017 with more than 200 drug-related deaths, an increase of over 40 from the prior year.

According to information from a news conference U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen held in Philadelphia the week before the Blue Guardian announcement, Lehigh County ranks second behind Philadelphia in the eight counties which comprise the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

“No one entity can save our citizens and communities,” Martin said. “However, I believe partnerships and collaborations like Blue Guardian will have an impact.

“It is with these unique partnerships that positive changes can occur.”

“It is our desire to further extend our resources into all of our communities.

“I believe Blue Guardian will be a valuable tool in accomplishing that and, consequently, in fighting the opioid epidemic and battling substance abuse,” Martin added.

Turner concurred.

“The collaborations from the Blue Guardian application in IDITS will help improve the service delivery and data sharing among multiple partners, as well as provide a vehicle for individuals to access treatment.”