SURRY COUNTY, N.C. -- Surry County has a new opioid response director to work with the Opioid Response Council it created last year.

• CDC: 165 prescriptions for every 100 people in the county
• New director, Mark Willis, has a background in law enforcement
• He plans to meet with Opioid Response Council next month

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2016 shows 165 opioid prescriptions for every 100 people in Surry County. That's a prescription and a half for every man, woman and child.   

Those numbers are what prompted leaders to hire Mark Willis. He has a military, federal agent and law enforcement background and he's ready to start breaking down the problem.

"The title is 'opioid response director' but we're not really sure how much of a problem are opioids, how much is the problem are opiates, the difference between pills and, say, heroin or fentanyl," said Mark Willis, Surry County’s opioid response director.

Willis starts May 25 and plans to meet with the Opioid Response Council next month.