Utah County is calling on doctors, pharmacists, police officers, school representatives, youth group volunteers, elected officials, religious leaders and others to come up with a plan to fight its prescription drug abuse problem.

The diverse group is led by Kye Nordfelt, a research analyst in the county's Division of Substance Abuse. Fueled by a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration that could amount to $1 million over three years, the division in June hired the former auditor from Maricopa County, Ariz., to build the team from scratch. He said he's scouring the county for groups and individuals that can offer any unique perspective on the issue. So far, that's a couple dozen men and women from area health care providers, police departments, PTAs and more.

"We wanted to get an eclectic group that would give us a good insight," Nordfelt said. "There's only so much that data can tell you. Most of these people are on the ground. They can help us make a targeted, educated plan."

The group, which is calling itself the Utah County Coalition, is co-captained by Becky Canning, a prevention specialist in Substance Abuse. Together, the pair has outlined the group's mission, which includes data collection in its early stages and plan implementation down the road.

Nordfelt asked his colleagues in a Tuesday meeting to share personal experiences they've had or witnessed in which prescription narcotics played a role.

Wayne Francom, a stake president with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and coalition member, told a sobering tale of news he got Sunday that an in-law had been found dead in the streets of Las Vegas with a mostly-empty bottle of Oxycontin. The news rocked his family, he said.

"If you think prescription drug abuse is a personal thing only affecting an individual, you've got some more thinking to do," he said.

Dr. Don Fairbanks of Brigham Young University Student Health Services said information he's mined from federal sources suggests Utah County is somewhere around No. 12 in the country for prescription narcotics use.

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates between 2004 and 2006, 6.06 percent of people over 12 years old in the county used pain relievers for nonmedical purposes as opposed to 4.89 percent nationally. Utah's Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health put the local number at 3.4 percent in 2005, roughly in the middle of the pack for Utah counties. Nordfelt candidly said prescription drug abuse isn't the most crucial problem in Utah County, but it's one that certainly needs to be addressed.

"Of all the substances in Utah County that should be focused on -- after alcohol -- the biggest challenge that we're seeing in all the arrest data, use data, treatment data is prescription narcotics," he said.

The coalition is currently amassing every bit of data it can find to identify its target population. Information is pouring in from nearly every law enforcement agency in the valley, as well as hospitals and schools, Nordfelt said. Combing through that data is an arduous process, but one that's necessary before engineering an effective response, he said.

"That's probably where we'll start to learn who those people are that we need to help," he said.

Coalition member Marianne Stephens, a volunteer with Youthnet Utah, said her greatest concern is for the kids.

"The biggest danger of all is that children and teenagers and young adults can get access to other people's old prescription medications," she said. "It's a critical thing."

That message is being echoed by the county Health Department, which is running a "Clean Out the Cabinet" outreach campaign this month. The message is two-pronged: one, that old pills are easy targets for abuse; and two, that medications disposed of improperly can harm fish and introduce other environmental concerns. The county is installing special collection bins in the county jail, the sheriff's Eagle Mountain substation and the Salem Police Department building and encouraging residents to pitch their old drugs.

Nordfelt said there isn't a firm timeline yet for enacting a plan, but some actions are already underway. The coalition voted Tuesday to provide $30,000 to the state Medical Examiner's Office in Salt Lake City to support a statewide study of prescription drug deaths. The group is also working up a mail survey that will be sent around the county to gauge the problem and glean firsthand information from residents.

"That's what treatment is all about: identifying your target," Nordfelt said.

• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or astryker@heraldextra.com.