Hamilton County Quick Response Team

⚠️ OVERDOSE ALERT ⚠️

This alert is being issued collaboratively by local public health partners and the Hamilton County Office of Addiction Response to increase community awareness and support overdose prevention efforts.

Ongoing surveillance of overdose activity since Wednesday, May 20, has identified concerning trends in Hamilton County:

▪️ 12 suspected overdose deaths occurred between Wednesday, May 20 and Tuesday, May 26
▪️ 4 of the 12 reported deaths occurred on Saturday, May 23
▪️ 5 overdose-related emergency department visits occurred on Monday, May 25

Current trends suggest a potential change in the potency of the local drug supply. FENTANYL, POTENT FENTANYL ANALOGUES, AND OTHER SYNTHETIC OPIOIDS within the drug supply can increase the risk of an overdose. However, at this time, we are not certain of what substances contributed to these deaths.

🚨 IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION 🚨

• Naloxone saves lives. Carry more than one dose — multiple doses may be needed.
• Naloxone is not just for people who inject drugs.
• Never use alone. If an overdose occurs, the person cannot administer naloxone to themselves.
• Drugs such as co***ne, crack co***ne, he**in, and methamphetamine may contain fentanyl or other dangerous substances, even when opioids are not expected.
• Overdoses can occur from stimulants alone, including co***ne and crack co***ne.
• Fentanyl test strips only detect fentanyl. Medetomidine and xylazine test strips are also available through Hamilton County Public Health.
• Using again shortly after naloxone reversal can cause another overdose.

If you suspect someone is overdosing:
📞 Call 911 immediately and do not leave the person alone.

📍 Need naloxone, testing strips, or overdose prevention supplies?
Contact Hamilton County Public Health at 513-316-7725.

📍 Treatment is open and available.
If you need help, call 513-558-8888.

We are sharing this alert to ensure community members know that help is available, naloxone is accessible, and overdose prevention resources are available throughout our region.

We also encourage service providers and first responders to:
• Ensure necessary personal protective equipment is available and utilized
• Be prepared to administer multiple doses of naloxone, if needed

Your awareness and partnership are critical in helping protect our community.

Please share this alert with your networks.

The alert is linked here: https://cms2.revize.com/revize/hamiltoncountyoh/Documents/Government/Departments/Addiction%20Response/Documents/HCARCOverdoseAlert-May2026.pdf?t=202605270935500

Get out of the rain and into Our Daily Bread to see our team today from 9:30-11:30am at 1730 Race St, 45202.

We will have personal care kits and overdose prevention supplies available and will be able to connect you to needed resources.

Our team is currently relocating to the Hamilton County Central Campus.

We appreciate your patience as we move through this process. We may experience intermittent IT and phone disruptions during this time, but expect to be fully operational by Wednesday, May 27th.

In the meantime, if you run into any challenges contacting us on our main line, you can call/text (513) 659-7671, or send us a message here.

Our team will be at the Ohio Deflection Association Southwest Ohio Regional Lunch & Learn Training today!

For our partners joining us at the event, post your pictures with our team in the comments! The best photo wins a prize from Andrea Qrt! :) Good luck and hope to see you all there!

Friday, May 8, you can find our team at the 5th Annual Drug Treatment & Recovery Court Beyond the Courthouse Steps event from 10am to 2pm outside of the courthouse downtown.

Come out and enjoy free food and valuable resources and don't forget to say hello to your favorites from the QRT!

The QRT regularly has roundtable discussions with local partners to learn updates on programming and to find ways to collaborate more effectively to provide the most appropriate resources to our community. This week we had the pleasure of hosting our friends at Serenity Recovery Network.

Thank you, Allison and Sara, for taking time out of your morning to share about the work Serenity is doing!

**If your organization is interested in scheduling a roundtable discussion with our team, email [email protected].

A few members of the QRT attended the Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services Champions of Hope 20th Anniversary to see Denise Driehaus receive the well-deserved Champions of Hope Award.

It's Friday, April 10, 2026! Today, find our team at the following outreach locations:

9:00am - 12:00pm Lord's Gym
3428 Warsaw Ave, 45205

Personal care kits, Naloxone, and other overdose prevention materials available.

**Times and locations subject to change based on availability.

Thank you for spreading the word and sharing the data about what Quick Response Teams like ours offer to the community. Meagan Guthrie and Mike Davenport we are grateful for your leadership!

Outreach locations for Weds, April 8, 2026:

8:30am - 11:30am Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen and Social Center
1730 Race St, 45202
**Personal care kits, Naloxone, and other overdose prevention materials available

11:00am - 1:00pm Connect & Care Collaborative
Washington United Church of Christ, 2950 Sidney Ave 45225
**Hygiene and Snack Packs, HealthSource of Ohio Outreach, Overdose prevention supplies, SUD and MH support from many incredible organizations, hospital resources, and more! Come see us in Camp Washington!

**Time and location subject to change based on availability.