Two dead, 70 to Cincinnati ERs as overdoses surge over weekend [View all]

Hamilton County hospital emergency departments saw 70 overdoses in a busy weekend, propelling the county's heroin coalition to issue an alert to users, emergency responders and treatment providers.

The Hamilton County Heroin Coalition started noting the surge in overdoses Thursday, issued a warning on Friday and re-emphasized its alert as the overdoses continued Saturday. The weekend's totals were 33 Friday, 22 Saturday and 15 Sunday, said Newtown Police Chief Tom Synan of the heroin coalition.

Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco, Hamilton County coroner, said Monday that two people died of suspected overdoses during the period. She and public health officials urged people to carry naloxone, the heroin and opioid overdose antidote.

Cincinnati Fire Department data posted on the city's Cincy Insights portal shows crews went to 51 incidents related to heroin, according to an Enquirer review of the data for March 17-20. Runs related to heroin were the single largest category during the three days, accounting for 9 percent of all runs. Twenty-eight of the runs resulted in somebody being taken to the hospital. Crews administered naloxone seven times, including five times where the patient wasn't transported.

Read more: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/03/20/two-dead-70-ers-overdoses-surge/99403900/