As Overdose Fatality Review (OFR) Circle Widens, Ripple Effects Intersect in Pennsylvania County

By prompting the county’s district attorney and the mayor of its largest city to call for the decriminalization of test strips to counter skyrocketing use of fentanyl, the OFR team showed itself to be the go-to vehicle for real-time, data-driven action in response to drug use trends in Lackawanna County. In so doing, the OFR team’s recommendations not only stood to save lives, but also presented a template for community responses everywhere.