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For more information about Columbus Regional Health’s Treatment and Support Center (TASC), visit www.crh.org/physician-practices/ treatment-and-support-center. For more information about the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress (ASAP), visit asapbc.org. To learn more or enroll in the Citizen Opioid Responders (COR) training program, visit go.iu.edu/stopoverdose.
Bartholomew County is on pace to record its fewest overdose deaths in nearly a decade in what local officials attribute to years of steady investment in addiction treatment.

At the same time, they caution that the drug crisis is far from over.

As of May 4, five people in Bartholomew County had died from overdoses this year, half the number reported at the same point last year, according to the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office.

That puts the county on pace for roughly 15 overdose deaths this year, which would be the fourth consecutive annual decline in deaths since a record 39 in 2022 and the lowest annual total since 2016, when the county recorded 12 deaths.

There were 21 overdose deaths in the county last year, according to preliminary data from the coroner’s office.

“Our community’s investments to help prevent addiction and to treat people who have addictions are really paying off,” said Dr. Kevin Terrell, medical director at Columbus Regional Health’s Treatment and Support Center, or TA SC. “We see new programs opening and expansions of existing programs every year.”

Terrell pointed to a growing number of local resources, including the recently opened Indiana Treatment Center, new sober living programs, the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, the Bartholomew County Drug Recovery Court, the Bartholomew County Jail’s treatment program, among several others.

For its part, TA SC, which offers a range of outpatient treatments for substance use disorders, has served 3,165 unique clients since opening on July 1, 2019, and currently has 435 active clients, according to Amanda Lang, the center’s practice manager.

State and national trends

The decline in deaths locally mirrors broader trends across Indiana and the nation.

Statewide, there were 1,273 overdoses in 2025, the fourth consecutive year of declines from a peak of 2,812 deaths in 2021 and down from 1,707 in 2024, according to provisional figures from the Indiana Department of Health.

Most of the overdose deaths in Indiana last year involved opioids, which were a factor in 60% of the deaths, followed by psychostimulants at 35% and benzodiazepines at 11%, state records show.

Synthetic opioids — which are a group of lab-made drugs such as fentanyl — were involved in 86% of opioid-related overdose deaths statewide last year. Psychostimulants affect the central nervous system and include drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine, while benzodiazepines are a class of drugs that are often used to treat anxiety and related mental health conditions, including drugs sold under the brand names Xanax, Klonopin and Valium.

Local officials have said in the past that most overdose deaths involve multiple drugs.

Nationally, overdose deaths also declined last year, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An estimated 70,231 people died from overdoses in the 12-month period that ended November 2025, down about 16% from the 83,512 in the previous 12-month period.

Emergency room visits for overdoses in Bartholomew County have also declined last year, falling to a provisional 122 in 2025, from 165 in 2023 and 206 in 2023, according to the Indiana Department of Health. Of last year’s visits, 30 involved opioids — including eight involving synthetic opioids — with five visits were related to overdoses involving benzodiazepines and less than five related to psychostimulant overdoses.

Expanded efforts

The update from local officials comes as Indiana University’s Prevention Insights and ASAP announced plans this week to expand overdose prevention efforts and strengthen community readiness in Bartholomew County.

The partnership between ASAP and IU includes the Citizen Opioid Responders, or COR, training, which is a free, 30-minute online training program that teaches people how to administer naloxone and locate free naloxone in the community.

Naloxone is a nasal spray that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose. It is often sold under the brand name Narcan.

As part of the partnership, Bartholomew County residents and workers who complete the COR training can present a certificate of completion to receive naloxone at no cost from ASAP and can also pick up free naloxone in the community by accessing community NaloxBoxes, including on the IU Columbus campus.

“The Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention has been at the forefront of providing naloxone and Narcan training in Bartholomew County,” said ASAP Executive Director Megan Cherry. “The collaboration with Indiana University’s Prevention Insights will help expand access to this life-saving intervention to our local IU Columbus campus. The Naloxone online educational training will be a great way for people to increase understanding of its use. We are very happy to be a part of this collaboration.”

‘Demand has never been higher’

Even as overdose deaths have declined, local officials say demand for treatment has not eased. TASC currently has 435 active clients, the highest patient load in the facility’s nearly seven-year history.

Methamphetamine and fentanyl remain by far the most common drugs bringing patients through the door. Terrell said TASC is also seeing a steady rise in people struggling with alcohol.

“Demand has never been higher,” Terrell said. “We have more patients in treatment than we ever have.

Terrell also cautioned against interpreting the decline in overdose deaths so far this year and over the past few years as a sign that the drug crisis is waning.

“In the late 2010s and early 2020s, the growing death tallies seemed almost invincible, but with the work of countless members of our community, overdose death rates have been greatly reduced,” Terrell said. “One of my fears is that people will think we now have this crisis beaten. New drugs and more powerful forms of opioids will continue to emerge in our community. We have to continue doing what we are doing to help people stay alive and thrive in their lives. That benefits the individuals, as well as our entire community.”
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