By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com
Governor Gina Raimondo has pledged to continue efforts to drive down the rate of overdoses in Rhode Island, after the Department of Health released a report showing seven people have died from drug related deaths since the beginning of the year.
“My administration is committed to redoubling our efforts to drive down the number of overdose deaths,” said Raimondo in a statement.
“These latest numbers demonstrate that we continue to face a public health crisis. We need everyone to come together to stop this epidemic.”
In 2014, 232 Rhode Islanders died from accidental drug overdoses, 90 percent of which involved opioids or prescription pain killers.
Department of Health Director Michael Fine said there is now more options for people who need treatment do to their dependency on pain killers and opioids.
“Certainly with 232 deaths we need to be trying everything we can and we all need to own this and work on it together,” said Fine.
