Racine Deputies Save 28th Overdose Victim Using Narcan

RACINE COUNTY, WI — Deputies in Racine County managed to save the life of an unresponsive drug overdose victim on Monday, their 28th since deputies began carrying Narcan in their squad cars.

As officers and first responders save the lives of many such victims, the opioid epidemic is claiming greater numbers of lives in Wisconsin.

Deputies Make their 28th Save

On Monday, Nov. 6, a Racine County Sheriff's deputy on patrol in Union Grove saw what appeared to be a suspicious vehicle parked in the parking lot of Leider Park at just after 8 a.m.

According to the Racine County Sheriff's office, the deputy approached the vehicle and saw a man slumped over the driver's seat and saw that he was turning blue.

Sheriff's officials stated that the deputy called on his radio for a rescue squad and immediately began assessing the person's medical needs. The person would not respond to the officer's attempts to revive him. The deputy administered a dose of Narcan - a powerful opioid reversal agent.

According to the Racine County Sheriff's office, the man's eyes opened and he began breathing on his own again. The Union Grove rescue squad arrived at Leider Park and administered a second dose of Narcan, and the man regained consciousness. The 24-year-old was transported to the Memorial Hospital of Burlington for further treatment.

According to Sheriff's officials in Racine County, it was their 28th save by deputies in the growing opioid epidemic. The sheriff's office was first equipped with Narcan in their patrol cars in Feb. 2014.

A Patch.com request seeking the suspect's name was answered by Sheriff's officials, who stated they were not releasing his identification at this time.

More Deaths In Milwaukee, Statewide

According to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s office, 294 opioid-related overdose deaths occurred in the city and surrounding 18 suburbs in 2016 — more than double the 144 deaths reported in 2012, according to an UrbanMilwaukee report.

According to the state department of Health Services, drug overdose deaths in Wisconsin increased 300 percent during a 15-year period; there were 246 deaths in 2000 compared to 1,031 deaths in 2016. The age-adjusted rate during the same period went from 4.6 per 100,000 to 18.5 per 100,000.

From 2000 to 2016, over half of the drug overdose deaths involved prescription opioids. The total number of deaths due to prescription opioids increased 600 percent, from 81 cases in 2000 to 568 in 2016. While death from heroin overdose accounted for 36 percent of all drug overdose deaths, heroin overdose deaths increased 12 times, from 28 deaths in 2000 to 371 deaths in 2016.

From 2005 to 2016, the total number of opioid-related hospital emergency room visits and hospitalizations nearly tripled, increasing from 9,968 to 27,101. 56percent of the hospital discharges involved a stay of more than 24 hours (hospitalization). Seventy-seven percent of the hospital discharges were due to substance use disorders.

Patch.com Special Report on State Opioid Epidemic

In October, Patch.com published a special report on the state's opioid epidemic. Wisconsin's opioid epidemic could also be termed: What happens when one person's suffering becomes a community-wide problem?

Read more here: Addiction's Doorstep: A Special Report on Wisconsin's Opioid Epidemic

Addiction spreads its web in ways that impact the entire community. It cripples police department manpower, exhausts first responders and ultimately spreads fear into neighborhoods in the form of burglaries, robberies and assaults. One way or another, opioid addiction — and its costs — land right on your doorstep.

Patch.com looked at the story of Carrie Mitchell, a mother and M&I Bank executive who fell into opioid addiction after she was prescribed opioid painkillers. The report also looked at addiction's cost to the community and how leading mental health experts are treating addiction.

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