MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee County has officially unveiled a new overdose dashboard, aiming to provide critical insights into overdose trends and informing data-driven intervention strategies.
“As Milwaukee County works toward our vision of becoming the healthiest county in Wisconsin, we must prioritize evidence-based, data-driven decisions to develop effective harm reduction programs and services,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Tuesday. “Addressing a challenge that impacts our entire community requires the support and engagement of everyone. The Overdose Dashboard is a testament to the importance of collaboration in combatting the overdose epidemic and driving meaningful change.”
“Our role in EMS system oversight gives us unique access to real-time overdose data and allows us to analyze trends to inform prevention and intervention strategies,” added Dr. Ben Weston, Milwaukee County Chief Health Policy Advisor. “By working with partners like the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Comprehensive Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, we can create evidence-based policy recommendations that help save lives. We are seeing that work reflected in lower levels of overdose deaths in Milwaukee County.”
The dashboard’s costs are covered by opiod litigation settlement funds received by the county. To date, Milwaukee County has recovered around $102 million in these settlements, which the county says represents the largest amount recovered by any local government in the history of Wisconsin.
What will you see when accessing this dashboard? The county says information will include data on fatal overdoses from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office and nonfatal overdose events from the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management, broken down by geography, demographics, and timing.
According to the first round of preliminary data collected, the county says 2024 “shows the potential for a major decrease in opioid overdose deaths, compared to 2023”.
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