Four Carbon County residents died of heroin overdoes in 2013, coroner Bruce Nalesnik said in his annual report, released in February.

In Monroe County, the Drug Task Force reports that 47 people were arrested for heroin use or sales last year.In Schuylkill County, police arrested Ray Lucas of Tower City last October after a toddler was found in the back of his car, playing with a heroin needle.In January and February, 22 people in western Pennsylvania died when they used heroin mixed with the powerful painkiller fentanyl.Heroin addiction is on the rise, authorities say.Marsha Resch, executive director of emergency services at Blue Mountain Health System's Palmerton campus, says heroin-related admissions are on the rise."We're seeing more patients come through with heroin overdoses. Sometimes they take a little more than their body can handle, not realizing they will overdose. Each time they use heroin, they think they can use a little bit more," she said.Resch said an increasing number of heroin admissions are middle-aged and middle class.The increase in the numbers of heroin overdoses Resch did not have figures handy may be due to the reduced availability of prescription drugs, such as Oxycodone and Percocet.The prescription drugs have become harder to get because authorities are cracking down on their abuse through increased vigilance and law enforcement.According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, "heroin is the most commonly cited drug among primary drug treatment admissions in the state, followed by marijuana."But there are a variety of treatment options in our three-county area for those struggling to break their addiction.Carbon County: Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission at 428 S. Seventh St., Lehighton (610-377-5177), or through PA Treatment and Healing at 335 N. Fourth St., Lehighton (610-377-8870).Monroe County: A Better Today, 18 S. Ninth St., Suite 104, Stroudsburg (570-424-8280); Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, 724-A Phillips St., Stroudsburg (570-517-0892); Inner Vision Treatment Services, 586 Main St., Suite 9, Stroudsburg (570-476-1902); Northwestern Human Services of Pennsylvania, 663 Pocono Boulevard, Mount Pocono (570-839-3097); PA Treatment and Healing, 135 Burson St., East Stroudsburg (570-517-7153); Pennsylvania Associates/Mount Pocono Medical, 1151 Pocono Blvd., Mount Pocono (570-839-7246); Pocono Mountain Recovery Center, 3437 Route 715, Henryville (570-629-3270); Pyramid Healthcare, 420 Supreme Court Drive, East Stroudsburg (570-213-3300).Schuylkill County: Clinical Outcomes Group, 437 North Centre St., Pottsville (570-628-6990); Conewago, 202-204 S. Centre St., Pottsville (570-628-5835); Gaudenzia-New Destiny, 91 Broad St., Ashland (570-875-2287); Gaudenzia Inc., 1 S. Second St., fourth floor, Pottsville, (570-622-6485); Gaudenzia, Fountain Springs, 95 Broad St., Ashland (570-875-4700); Pa. Treatment and Healing, 1502 Route 61 south, Pottsville (570-649-6855); Schuylkill Health System Center for Counseling Services, Schuylkill Healthplex, 502 S. Second St., Suite A, Saint Clair (570-622-5898); Schuylkill Health System Counseling Center-North, 10 East Spruce St., Frackville (570-874-7030).Lehigh County: Inpatient: Allentown Rescue Mission/Alpha-Omega Recovery Program, 355 West Hamilton St., Allentown (610-740-5500); Keenan House, 18-22 S. Sixth St., Allentown (610-439-8479); White Deer Run at Blue Mountain, 8284 Leaser Road, Kempton (610-756-4023); White deer Run Williamsport, 915 Vine Ave., Williamsport (570-321-6127); Pyramid Healthcare, adolescents: 2705 Old Bethlehem Pike, Quakertown (215-536-9070), adults: 3893 W. Main St., Belleview (717-935-5400).Outpatient: Confront, 130 Walnut St., Allentown (610-433-0148); New Directions Treatment Services, basement of 375 Linden St., Allentown (610-776-1224); White Deer Run of Allentown, 1259 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Suite 308, Allentown (610-432-5561); Riverside, 44 E. Broad St., Suite 020, Bethlehem (610-868-0435).Northampton County: MidAtlantic Rehabilitation Services, 826 Delaware Ave., Bethlehem (610-419-3101);

N.E.T. Northeast Treatment Centers, 44 E. Broad St., Suite 020, Bethlehem (610-868-0435);

N.E.T. Northeast Treatment Centers, 6 S. Third St., Suite 508, Easton (610-253-6760); New Directions Treatment Services (Methadone maintenance), 2442 Brodhead Road, Bethlehem (610-758-8011); Recovery Revolution Inc., 109 Broadway, Bangor (610-599-7700).