A coalition of government, law enforcement and private agencies and officials in the Cincinnati area plans to provide an update on its efforts in coping with the opioid epidemic.

The Hamilton County Heroin Coalition is nearly three years old. It's meant to provide leadership and coordinate ways to respond to the crisis that has hit Ohio particularly hard.

Chairwoman Denise Driehaus (dree-HOWS') says the Tuesday afternoon news conference will offer a "state of the coalition" to let the community know what it's working on. She's a Democratic county commissioner.

At the coalition's last meeting, county Health Commissioner Tim Ingram said 2017 was a "very, very bad year." He says the county's final overdose death toll likely will top 2016's, and that HIV cases blamed on needle-sharing jumped last year.