Hospital Braces Itself For More Patients After A Spate Of Heroin Overdoses
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's a big increase in opioid overdoses. 10 in only two hours at one Chicago hospital.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports from Loretto Hospital on what happened to those patients.
The spike is likely due to an extra potent batch of heroin. Those 10 people rushed to the emergency room not one accepting an offer for treatment for their addiction.
"Probably within 30 minutes or less we got the first five overdoses," said Crystal Carey, director of the ER department at Loretto Hospital.
She was working in the ER Wednesday when ambulances started arriving, bringing in patient after patient, overdosing on opioids.
"We ended up seeing a total of 10 patients in all, in a short amount of two hours," said Carey.
Police were called and a small amount of drugs handed over.
"From what we gather, sometimes it's what they consider a bad batch," said Carey. "Whether it's laced with something we really don't know."
Loretto Hospital sees several overdoses daily and offers treatment in their medical stabilization recovery unit to everyone.
"It was reported to me that we had 10," said Kimberly Wright, director of behavioral health for Loretto Hospital. "One stayed, but he did leave today. You have to understand this is a voluntary treatment so if they're not ready they're not gonna stay."
Where are they today?
"I would say possibly they may be getting high," said Antwain Kelly, a recovering heroin user.
In fact Kelly, who graduated from the recovery program at Loretto after three stints in rehab, said overdoses like these often send more people looking for the drug.
"As they say, chasing the dragon. You actually go for what's out there killing someone because you think that's the most potent and it gets you high," said Kelly.
Which is why at Loretto Hospital is bracing itself for the next wave.
"It's getting so bad and so out of hand," added Carey.
