Deschutes County Health Services and St. Charles Health System issued at public health alert Friday in response to an increased number of opioid overdoses.
“We think between our four campuses we’ve seen nine to 10 overdoses in the past week,” said Michelle Brenholdt, director of emergency services at St. Charles.
That number isn’t terribly out of the ordinary, she said. Usually the hospitals see about two to three overdoses a week, but they have had spikes that have hit nine or 10 in the past, Brenholdt said.
“It’s not the number, but the severity of the overdoses,” she said. “We had four patients that went to the ICU in a 24-hour period.”
Health care providers said there are concerns that opioids such as heroin may be laced with synthetic fentanyl, making them particularly dangerous and potentially lethal.
“I think it’s still unclear,” said Dr. Cory Siebe with St. Charles. “Our hospital toxicology panels don’t typically test for fentanyl, but the severity of the overdoses made us worried that there may be something stronger than just heroin.”
Patients who came into the hospitals critically ill were required to take “unusually high” doses of naloxone to be stabilized, according to a news release. Naloxone can reverse an opioid overdose.
Deschutes County Health Services is urging people to abstain from drug use.
Naloxone is available via prescription from any pharmacist in Oregon, or a medical provider.
People who utilize Deschutes County’s syringe exchange program can also receive free naloxone.
Copyright 2019 Oregon Public Broadcasting
