JCDH Medical Director Dr. Darlene Traffanstedt Discusses the Fentanyl Crisis in Jefferson County
Rotarian Dr. Mark Wilson with Dr. Darlene Traffanstedt and RCB President Chuck Redden
This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed guest speaker Dr. Darlene Traffanstedt, Jefferson County Department of Health Medical Director to discuss the Fentanyl crisis in Jefferson County.
Dr. Traffanstedt shared that there was a sudden rise in the number of overdose deaths across the U.S. that coincided with the start of the pandemic in 2020. She explained that, while there has been a downturn nationally, the rate remains high in Jefferson County largely due to the prevalence of Fentanyl in every illicit drug product sold in the county. She said there has been a 90% increase in overdose deaths and a %275 increase in Fentanyl-related overdose deaths since 2019.
“We have a really big problem on our hands from a public health standpoint,” Dr. Traffanstedt said. “This is something we have to turn around as a community.“
Dr. Traffanstedt explained that the synthetic opioid is manufactured by criminal organizations in clandestine labs. She said it is inexpensive to produce, making it readily available and easy for people to access. Many do not expect to encounter Fentanyl in the products they ingest and very small doses are often lethal in individuals without a tolerance to the potent chemicals. She said six out of every ten pills seized by the DEA contains a lethal dose of Fentanyl.
Dr. Traffanstedt discussed strategies to combat the epidemic and said she sees a lot of hope thanks to key partnerships with law enforcement and organizations helping those without insurance to receive needed prevention and treatment options. She shared methods of harm reduction such as making Fentanyl test strips and Narcan kits readily available and training citizens on their use.
“I see it as our mission to reduce the demand,” Dr. Traffanstedt said. “Our youth here in the Birmingham area can purchase them on Snapchat for $5 and have them delivered to their home and it could be a fatal pill. Have a conversation, open those lines of communication with your children or your grandchildren or any of those in your life that are in that age group to talk about this risk.”
About Dr. Darlene Traffanstedt
Dr. F. Darlene Traffanstedt is a native of Florence, Alabama. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Alabama and her medical degree at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine with Baptist Health System in Birmingham. After spending 14 years in the practice of General Internal Medicine, she now works as a Medical Director at the Jefferson County Department of Health.
Dr. Traffanstedt has served on the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, the State Committee on Public Health, the Medical Association of the State of Alabama’s Board of Censors, the Admissions Committee for the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and Governor Ivey’s Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council, where she currently serves as Co-Chair of the Prescribers and Dispensers Committee, leading the development of a statewide pain and substance use curriculum.
Dr. Traffanstedt was recently named a 2022 Human Impact Partners Health Equity Awakened Fellow, is a member of the Leadership Birmingham Class of 2023 and is a recipient of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama’s 2022 Ira L. Myers Service Award, the 2022 Carl Nowell Leadership Award from the Alabama School for Alcohol and Drug Studies and the 2022 Addiction Prevention Coalition Impact Award.
Dr. Traffanstedt lives in Homewood with her husband and three sons.