High Volume Of Overdose Cases Putting Strain On Resources, Budgets Of First Responders
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's a crisis that is gripping the nation, and spreading.
Lawmakers across the country are trying to fight the growing problem of opioid addiction and overdose.
Pittsburgh is no different. Karen Hacker, the director of the Allegheny County Health Department, said in early November that she wants to see an increase in education about safely prescribing opioids.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf recently approved five new laws to help fight the opioid addiction crisis, including limits on how many painkillers can be prescribed in an emergency room, or how many are issued to children.
But still, overdose cases are on the rise. There has been a dramatic increase in the past two years, limiting the ability of first responders to save addicts. Last year, 349 people died of overdoses in Allegheny County.
From January through August of 2016, Pittsburgh Police, EMS and Firefighters responded to 1,380 overdoses. That is more than 2015's totals for the entire year.
Not only is it a health crisis, it is a financial drain on the city.
Part of the money is spent on the drug Narcan, which is an antidote of sorts that reverses the effects of an overdose. Emergency workers inject Narcan directly into a patient's nose. The medication shocks an addict back into a sober state, but they can become suddenly ill and violent.
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Mike Rogers, Pittsburgh's EMS supervisor, recalls one particular patient.
"He came up fighting. He was vomiting all over the place. It was a difficult situation for the crew," says Rogers. "Unfortunately, it's not that uncommon."
Rogers says emergency workers have revived patients multiple times, but that they often refuse to get help.
For 2016 alone, the city of Pittsburgh has already spent nearly a quarter million dollars on Narcan. Some say you cannot put a price on human life.
"These people don't want to be in the situation that they are [in]," says Rogers. "Your job in life is to take care of other people. That's what we're here for."
