Putnam creates Suicide and Overdose Fatality Review Team
Our Homefront Executive Program Director, Megan Castellano, is on the newly formed Suicide and Overdose Fatality Review Team for Putnam County — a multi-disciplinary group designed to conduct in-depth reviews of select local deaths in an effort to better understand and prevent future tragedies.
“CARMEL – In a county of under 100,000 residents, Putnam reported 12 drug overdose deaths in 2024. That number is down by two from the previous year, and down from 24 in 2022. Yet officials said the number of non-fatal overdoses has remained steady over the past three years.
Since the opioid crisis remains problematic across the county, Putnam officials have created a Suicide and Overdose Fatality Review Team—a multi-disciplinary group designed to conduct in-depth reviews of select local deaths in an effort to better understand and prevent future tragedies.
The team’s leaders include the county’s Director of Mental Health Paul Tang, Dual Recovery Coordinator Lauren Johnson, and Director of the Child Advocacy Center Marla Behler, along with Shanna Siegel of the Putnam County Department of Health and Megan Castellano of Guardian Homefront.
Siegel, who serves as the Health Department’s education supervisor, said, “While fewer lives are being lost to overdose, that may not necessarily mean fewer people are at risk. The rate of opioid overdose deaths in Putnam varies year to year. We are also monitoring non-fatal overdoses, which increase a person’s likelihood of experiencing a fatal overdose. This known risk was a catalyst for our creation of the team.”
Johnson emphasized the importance of using real-life experiences to inform systemic change. “When an individual is referred to me after a non-fatal overdose or other substance-involved crisis, I work with them and their families to help connect them to appropriate support and identify treatment barriers. Establishing a fatality review team gives us an opportunity to analyze some of these struggles I see daily and make applicable recommendations for systems-level change.”
Behler also serves on the Putnam Child Fatality Review Team, reminding the community, “Preventable deaths, including overdose and suicide, devastate families. Examining in closer detail the facets of a person’s life and their interactions with our system of care is one small way we can honor the memories of those lost while working to prevent these tragedies in the future.”
Tang highlighted the team’s mission: “The team has been charged with identifying gaps and improvements to drive meaningful local interventions, and we remain committed to person-centered approaches. This is accomplished through honest dialogue about our respective agency roles and always honoring the life of each person, and respecting surviving loved ones.””
