LANSING, Mich. — Drug-related death in the Lansing region jumped 22 percent in 2020, an increase driven by deaths related to fentanyl, according to data from Sparrow Hospital.
Sparrow reported 180 deaths in Eaton, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella and Shiawassee counties. Of those, 160 deaths were related to opioids, a 30 percent increase from 2019. Fentanyl deaths alone were up by 47%.
“We do add fentanyl to the drug class, even though it’s an opioid. We do that to show the large increase in fentanyl deaths,” said said Michelle Fox, supervisor of Forensic Pathology at Sparrow Health..
Eaton County reported 26 deaths, Ionia County reported 4, Isabella County had 8, Shiawassee County 11 and Ingham County had the 131 deaths.
“Ingham County is our larger number and it’s the most populated, so we’ll see a higher number there,” Fox said.
Overall deaths increased despite decreases in deaths related to some drugs.
“We saw a decrease in cocaine and heroin,”Fox said.
