I have been writing much lately about heroin with the backdrop of Hartford’s Park Street which is one of many epicenters of the current heroin epidemic.  Today, I am going to briefly change the backgrounds.  Instead of Park Street with its back drop of bakeries, bodegas, Spanish restaurants,  and young tattooed men, with crooked baseball […]

I mentioned that we had a patient this week who said she stayed away from the white powdered heroin because of her fear of Fentanyl.  Powdered Fentanyl is white and very hard to distinguish visually from white powdered heroin. A number of years ago drug dealers started enhancing their heroin with Fentanyl.  Fentanyl is stronger […]

Paramedics in North Carolina and in Cleveland, Ohio are providing Narcan kits to high risk patients in their communities. Cleveland EMS Providers to Distribute Overdose Kits N.C. County Allows Paramedics to Provide Precautionary Narcan Kits My partner and I often spend time on heroin overdose calls educating the patient’s family, friends or bystanders/social circle on […]

On January 1, 2017, Connecticut will launch their first set of statewide EMS protocols.  They are largely modeled after those in New Hampshire.  Paramedics and EMTs will be expected to know all the protocols even though their local sponsor hospital may not approve all the drugs and treatment modalities listed.  Any service wanting to do […]

I only went to one heroin overdose this week and one PCP overdose.  The heroin overdose was on Park Street in the South end and the PCP was on Capen in the north end.  You get get called for an overdose on Park Street and it is pretty much always heroin.  You get called for an […]

Last week I speculated that despite increased access to Narcan, the opiate epidemic would continue to rage with deaths in 2016 exceeding those of 2015. Narcan Thoughts Sadly, this was borne out in just released data from the state medical examiner.  Through the first six months of 2016,  444 people died of fatal overdoses in […]

Medical emergencies, like cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, heroin overdose, (and being bitten by a Black Widow spider), require quick treatment to save a life.   Our public health system recognizes this.  We have AEDs, epi-pens and now increasing access to Narcan.  All great initiatives.  Before I advocate for public access anti-spider bite kits, let me address […]

A story on the news this week said the Hartford Fire Department has saved 136 lives with Narcan since they began carrying it last November.  They have used it 172 times with 136 positive results, according to the article.  (Kudos to an outstanding department!) The story also mentions the Connecticut State Police have saved 100 […]

Two weeks ago, it was Black Jack.  This week it is OMG.  Oh, My G**. The woman lays on a parking lot sidewalk behind the school.  Her face is blue and she is only breathing one or two times a minute.  She is wearing tight spandex and bright pink tank top.  She has tattoos on […]

I did three heroin ODs on one shift last week. Another medic did four in a shift the day before. Lots of OD calls going out. All three of these ODs used the same brand. Black Jack. For years, dealers in the Northeast have been branding their supply, stamping or printing it on the glassine […]