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January 20, 2023

Plenary Session 4: Addressing Gaps in Substance Use, Overdoses, and Recovery

With a population of 2.5 million residents and 55 overdose deaths per month, Riverside County became the first county in California to establish an overdose fatality review (OFR) team. The Riverside County Overdose Data to Action (RODA) Program’s OFR multidisciplinary team meets monthly to review selected overdose cases within a pre-identified focus area (e.g., individuals experiencing homelessness, the Native American population, youth aged 15 to 24, etc.) to fill gaps in knowledge of local overdose trends and increase coordination and collaboration among partner agencies. The RODA Program utilizes Jamboard to facilitate each decedent’s review and engage the 10-plus team members to discuss the circumstances leading up to the decedent’s death. During these discussions, the OFR team develops recommendations to prevent substance use, overdose, and death. The recommendations are added to an action plan to track progress. The RODA Program monitors the action plan and brings in the appropriate partners to carry out the activities. OFR recommendations have been integrated into prevention activities, including a harm reduction mass media campaign, quick response (QR) codes on substance use resources for first responders, and harm reduction and naloxone training. The OFR team has proved to be a valuable tool for informing programmatic activities and strengthening partnerships among entities that share the common goal of reducing overdoses.

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