ROMEOVILLE — Jeff Coady believes treating heroin addiction is not enough to curtail its widespread use — a comprehensive public health approach is needed.

Coady, a regional administrator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, was one of several experts called to the 2015 HERO HELPS Community Summit on Friday in Romeoville.

“Detox is not recovery. That’s treating acute illness, not a patient,” Coady said during his presentation. “We want to be as comprehensive with our approach to treatment as possible.”

The summit was held in response to the growing heroin epidemic in Will County, statewide and across the nation. Members of local heroin relief and education organizations, as well as legislators, health and criminal justice experts, came to discuss different approaches to reducing heroin abuse.

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow called heroin the “Ebola of drugs.” He said he had never seen such an epidemic during his 35 years in law enforcement.

“We’re not being vigilant enough,” he said.

Will County approach

Heroin overdoses were rare in Will County before 1999, but the Will County Coroner's Office noted increases in heroin overdose deaths year after year, from 17 cases in 2008 to 29 in 2009. In 2012, the number of cases were at 53.

Will County formed the Heroin Education Leads to Preventative Solutions task force in response to provide community forums and educational initiatives for students and parents. The Will County Board last year also approved a countywide program training police officers on administering the heroin overdose antidote known as Narcan.

Glasgow said he plans to contact a communications specialist to develop public service announcements about the heroin epidemic.

He said the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office has worked to deter drug sales by charging those who distribute heroin that leads to overdose deaths with drug-induced homicide, a Class X felony that carries a prison sentence of six to 30 years.

“What we’re really trying to do is nail the dealers on this chain,” Glasgow said.

State approach

State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, shared state legislators' efforts to comprehensively resolve heroin and prescription drug abuse through the proposed Heroin Crisis Act, also known as House Bill 1.

The bill proposes creating a heroin and opiate drug prevention program for public schools statewide, as well as making the overdose antidote naloxone more widely available.

The bill also proposes preventing over-prescribing pain medication and reducing insurance claim denials for those who’ve been treated for substance abuse, That has been met with resistance from insurance and medical companies, Lang said.

He also said the bill would “change the dynamic” of drug courts by expanding them and allowing addicts more chances to succeed.

“It was not my goal to do something small, but to create a bill that was comprehensive in nature that covered all issues,” Lang said.

He said Gov. Bruce Rauner has not weighed in on the bill yet, but many of his staff have expressed concerns about its potential costs.

National approach

Coady said communities nationwide should reduce drug abuse by establishing a network of resources and sharing data-driven information. Communities should also create a recovery-oriented system of care that not only addresses drug addiction, but mental and social well-being.

He also advocated increasing access to naloxone and medication-assisted treatments.

“We don’t do this in isolation. We do this in collaboration — with public health, with public safety — so we really have a population-based approach looking at health and wellness of that community,” Coady said.