BC Coroners Service data shows Revelstoke continued to lose members of the community to overdose drug deaths last year, prompting one of Interior Health's (IH) lead doctors to share what can be done locally to save more lives.

Dr. Silvina Mema, deputy chief medical officer, called Revelstoke's three overdose drug deaths for 2024 "sad" and "preventable."

BC Emergency Health Services also received 15 calls about overdoses in Revelstoke last year, a number that's stayed between 10 and 19 calls annually since 2016.

But Mema noted it's good to see IH listing communities with smaller numbers of fatalities, as in past years only those with at least five overdose drug deaths were mentioned publicly and those with fewer would be "suppressed."

"We are seeing a positive trend that these deaths are declining," she said, deeming it "good news." "That would be something people in Revelstoke would want to know."

In the last decade, the most overdose drug deaths Revelstoke has experienced in a year was five in 2018, with the number consistently lowering to three deaths per year. Revelstoke's rate of fatalities per population has also fallen by almost half since 2018, to below IH's regional average.

Though IH informed Black Press Media that it doesn't share circumstances of overdose deaths, Mema did reveal some specifics.

"We do know that most deaths happen in a residence," she said, explaining this isn't limited to indoors but also includes driveways and garages.

In Revelstoke, about 60 per cent of drug overdose deaths happen in private residences, and about 80 per cent of victims are men, which is slightly higher than IH's regional average.

As well, compared to past years of injection being a leading method of consumption, Mema said inhalation, which includes smoking, now represents about 70 per cent of substance use across the Interior Health region.

"Any substance users should know that they are at risk of death or other bad outcomes," she advised, clarifying that this applies to any stimulants. "I say this always: It's not a good time to be experimenting with substances they don't know."

Local businesses Mema mentioned that have naloxone kits are Revelstoke Family Pharmacy, Pharmasave Revelstoke, Community Connections (Revelstoke) Society, and Revelstoke Public Health at the Queen Victoria Hospital. She reported that more than 900 naloxone kits have been distributed in Revelstoke since B.C. declared a public health emergency around the opioid crisis in 2016.

"But people who get a naloxone kit need to know how to use it," Mema noted.

Anyone wanting to certify themselves to use a kit can take a naloxone administration course online through the BC Centre for Disease Control at .

For situations and substances where overdoses can't be treated with naloxone, Mema emphasized that mental-health support and buddy systems are vital. Especially in a city such as Revelstoke without a designated site for safe and supervised consumption, she said it's important for substance users to ensure they have someone sober and vigilant in their company.

Revelstoke community members can seek such support at the Queen Victoria Health Centre. People can also refer themselves or others struggling with substance use to IH's Virtual Addiction Medicine clinic, available at .

"It's a very important resource," Mema said.

Substance users can additionally access drug-checking lab services to ensure their supply is safe.

"Sometimes they get their drugs mixed with things they don't want," she explained, with the caveat that this process takes several days and may require sending substances to B.C.'s larger registered drug check-in site in Vancouver.

Information on how to access drug-checking evaluations is available through the BC Centre on Substance Use at .

Furthermore, Mema said IH is working to advance strategies that remove the stigma experienced by substance users.

"Substance use is so stigmatized because it's illicit," she said, adding this creates challenges for people who need to self-medicate or perform personal trauma care.

"Talking to someone who can help," Mema concluded, "is the first step toward finding a solution."