Erie Co Department of Health Prescription Abuse Study

            The Erie County Board of Health is working to prevent the growing number of people in ErieCounty who abuse prescription drugs.

 So for the past year, partners in this effort have worked together to find out how to stop the problem.

            This morning those partners gathered at the Erie County Health Department to hear the results of several surveys.

            The survey was completed by doctors, hospitals and other civic leaders including the District Attorneys office.

            This is a major problem that is seeing growth in parts of ErieCounty that caught many people by surprise such as Millcreek and Harborcreek.

This task force began in 2011 and will wrap up in 2014.

            The idea is to use these findings in this study and possibly use is statewide.

            ErieCounty is considered one of 12 safe communities in the nation  so it received a grant for this study.

            Once this study is complete the program could be used as a model throughout the rest of the state.

 Officials say that is good news because this is a problem that needs to be addressed county by county.