BARNESVILLE — Overdose deaths in Belmont County declined dramatically, according to Coroner Amanda Fisher.

Fisher recently published a report reviewing statistics about deaths in the county from her first term in office. The Republican was reelected in November and is beginning her second term this month.

“As we close another year, we reflect on the cases we have worked,” Fisher said.

She added that she published the statistics because she believes it’s important for residents to be aware of the types of calls the coroner’s office receives. She also thinks it’s important for the community to be aware of overdose and suicide rates in the county.

In 2024, Belmont County had 13 overdose deaths — fewer than half as many as occurred in 2023 at 27. That rate had previously been consistent in the high 20s, with 25 overdose deaths in 2022 and 28 in 2021.

There were 12 suicides in 2024 — a four-year high. Eight deaths were ruled suicides in 2023, with seven in 2022 and 10 in 2021.

Fisher said she believes the decrease in overdose deaths is in direct correlation to the availability and use of Narcan to counteract opioid overdoses and drug testing strips being more readily available.

“Every May all of the cornoners from all over the state get together and have an annual symposium, and during that time we will talk about different trends. And from all across the state, overdoses seem to be lessening, which is great. A lot of that is attributed to Narcan being readily available as well as test strips that folks can use to test for fentanyl in the drugs that they are using as well,” Fisher said.

Other statistics Fisher shared include:

Deaths from motor vehicle accidents declined annually from seven in 2021 to five in 2022, four in 2023 and two in 2024.

Fires claimed two lives in 2024, two in 2023, zero in 2022 and two in 2021.

Two people died of homicide in 2024, zero in 2023, and two each in 2022 and 2021.

Although overdose deaths are down in 2024, the number of suicides has risen. During her time in office, Fisher has made it her goal to bridge the gap between the coroner’s office and mental health agencies by working with multiple high schools and the Belmont County Concentrated Conduct Adjustment Program, or C-CAP, to host presentations on the dangers of fentanyl and how it’s mixed with other drugs that teenagers may not think it would be mixed with. She said she also tried to become a bridge between mental health services and people whose loved ones recently died.

“When we first started, we noticed that when somebody has someone in their family die, especially tragically where it’s a suicide or overdose, that the family is who is often left struggling,” Fisher previously said. “Oftentimes the family doesn’t know how to get help. They think that they either need insurance that covers these services and a lot of people don’t have great insurance plans. They don’t know that there are resources available to them at no costs.”

She added that despite the work of numerous mental health professionals throughout the entire country, mental health issues still have a negative stigma attached to them. Fisher believes that stigma plays a role in people not taking the necessary steps to receive mental health treatment.

According to the National Library of Medicine, there is a median delay of 10 years after onset of mental illness symptoms until the first contact with a general medical doctor and 11 years until the first contact with a psychiatrist.

Fisher hopes that by teaming with area mental health professionals, her office can help destigmatize the idea of people in mourning receiving mental health treatment.

She added that another struggle she’s witnessed is that people who do look for mental health treatment have a difficult time navigating the mental healthcare system.

“It can be very overwhelming, and then you add the long wait times and you exceed six months for a new patient appointment with a psychologist or psychiatrist, which adds to the person’s frustration,” Fisher said. “Then the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated things because many individuals experienced significant mental health declines and have struggled to recover ever since.”

Fisher added that not every death of a Belmont County resident is reported to her office. If an individual were to pass away in hospice home care, for example, her office would not receive a call.

“The total number of calls equates to how many deaths in the county that we were called to either to be notified about or to investigate in that year,” she said.

Another reason her office wouldn’t be called is if someone were to be injured or ill and be taken to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital or another facility outside the county and then die there.

“It does skew our numbers being that close to the (Ohio) river,” Fisher said. “What happens is if you are pronounced deceased at Wheeling Hospital even though the event occurred in Belmont County, it’s not recorded as a death in our county. So that goes to the Ohio County Medical Examiner and will count as an Ohio County statistic.”