Justin Sayers

@_JustinSayers

A spike in overdoses over a 32-hour period left Louisville officials trying to determine if the cases were out of the ordinary or part of a grim new reality.

The city's Metro Emergency Services handled 52 overdose calls — including a fatal one in a moving car — starting midnight Thursday through 8 a.m. Friday. It was a huge uptick from the approximately 22 a day the county has experienced this year. The calls came from more than 20 ZIP codes in the county.

"When we say overdoses, we usually mean heroin, but that included alcohol, prescription medications, etcetera," said Emergency Services spokesman Mitchell Burmeister, adding that 34 of those 52 patients were taken to the hospital.

There were 695 overdose cases through the first month of 2017 — a 33 percent increase from last year. Burmeister pinned the increase on drugs being more readily available, especially heroin, but called it the "same old, same old."

At Norton Audubon Hospital, doctors saw several overdoses during the 32-hour spike and used the anti-heroin antidote naloxone to resuscitate their patients, said Dr. Robert Couch, medical director for Emergency Services. Couch said that some patients, once revived, experienced complications that required hospitalization.

"What generally is going on when you see this is someone has introduced a batch of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply that hasn’t been cut sufficiently," said Van Ingram, Executive Director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. "I’m afraid it's a reality we’re going to see repeated far too often."

Heroin laced with more potent synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, is undetectable to the drug user, said Dr. Ashley Webb, director of the Kentucky Poison Control Center.

“You’re taking that chance every time..." she said, adding that "even if naloxone does revive an overdose victim, brain and other organ damage can occur if the victim goes without oxygen for too long."

Ingram said he hadn't heard of any similar spikes in other Kentucky counties this week, but at least two smaller spikes have occurred before. Most often, he said, it's because of the addition of fentanyl to batches of heroin or other drugs.

Fentanyl-related deaths in Jefferson County spiked to 139 from 26 between 2015 and 2016.

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Brad Meixell, executive director of the Clark County Office of Emergency Communications in Indiana, said that dispatchers have not seen a recent spike in overdose calls. They received a total of 183 unconscious/unresponsive and overdose calls last January, compared to 193 this year. They received two calls on Thursday.

However, Clark County Health Commissioner Dr. Kevin Burke said that overdoses remain a major problem in Southern Indiana, where there were at least 90 overdose deaths in 2016, up from 55 the previous year.

"If someone is opioid-addicted and they hear there's a more dangerous or potent drug in the community, they'll seek it out," he said.

Thursday's calls in Louisville included one fatal case: the driver and a passenger in a pickup truck involved in a crash at the intersection of North Hurstbourne Parkway and Westport Road had overdosed. The passenger died, while the driver was taken to the University of Louisville Hospital and administered Narcan, an opioid antidote.

Burmeister said early indications are that the two overdosed from heroin.

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In August last year, Cincinnati gained national attention for registering 174 overdoses in six days, compared to an average of no more than 25 in a week.

Emergency Services warned its crews to be aware of exposure to potential chemicals, such as fentanyl. Authorities are also working with the Louisville Metro Public Health Department, Louisville Metro Police and local hospitals to identify patterns in the overdoses.

The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness has been warning users at its needle exchange sites to be on guard, officials said. The department plans to conduct overdose prevention training at its headquarters, 400 E. Gray St., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.

In the meantime, Burmeister pleaded to those struggling with addiction to seek help.

"Heroin addiction is hard to overcome but there are agencies that can help you get clean," he said.

Reporter Justin Sayers can be reached at 502-582-4252 or jsayers@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @_JustinSayers.

Reporters Chris Kenning and Matt Glowicki contributed to this story.

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Here's a list of some places to turn in the Kentucky and Southern Indiana area.

Treatment/Recovery Centers

Name: Adult Behavioral Services

Address: 404 Spring St., Jeffersonville, Ind.

Phone number: (812) 280-2080

Name: Baptist Health Louisville

Address: 209 Executive Park office, Louisville

Phone number: (502) 896-7105

Website: https://www.baptisthealth.com/louisville/pages/services/behavioral-health/psychiatric-services/intensive-outpatient-programming.aspx

Name :The Brook Hospital-Dupont

Address:1405 Browns Lane, Louisville

Phone number: (502) 896-0495

Website: http://www.thebrookhospitals.com

Name: The Brook Hospital-KMI

Address:8521 LaGrange Road, Louisville

Phone number: (502) 426-6380

Website: http://www.thebrookhospitals.com

Name: Children & Families Services

Address: 460 Spring St., Jeffersonville, Ind.

Phone number: (812) 280-2080

Name: The Healing Place

Address: 1020 West Market St., Louisville

Phone number: (502) 585-4848

Website: http://www.thehealingplace.org/meetings

Name: Volunteers of America Freedom House (for pregnant/parenting women and their children)

Address: 1432 S Shelby St.

Phone number: (502) 636-0742

Website: www.voamid.org

Name: Seven Counties Services Women’s Renaissance Center

(For pregnant/postpartum women and their children. One side of the building is designed for children born dependent on opioids, with low stimulation and low noise.)

Address: 231 Washington St., Shelbyville, KY 40065

Phone number: (502) 437-5066

Website: www.sevencounties.org

Name: Integrated Treatment Center

Address: 1036 Sharon Dr., Jeffersonville, Ind.

Phone number: (812) 280-6606

Name: Jefferson Alcohol & Drug Abuse Center

Address:600 S Preston St., Louisville

Phone number: (502) 583-3951

Website: http://sevencounties.org/

Name: KentuckyOne Health - Our Lady of Peace

Address: 2020 Newburg Road, Louisville

Phone number: (502) 451-3333

Website: http://www.kentuckyonehealth.org/ourladyofpeace

Name: LifeSpring Main Center & Administration

Address: 460 Spring St., Jeffersonville, Ind.

Phone number: (812) 280-2080

Name: The Morton Center

Address: 1028 Barret Ave., Louisville

Phone number: (502) 495-3607

Website: www.themortoncenter.org

Name: New Albany Center

Address: 618 East Market St., New Albany, Ind.

Phone number: (812) 280-2080

Name: Turning Point Center

Address: 1060 Sharon Dr., Jeffersonville, Ind.

Phone number: (812) 283-7116

Name: Wellstone Regional Hospital

Address: 2700 Visiting Park Road, Jeffersonville, Ind.

Phone number: (812) 284-8000

Website: http://www.wellstonehospital

Support Groups Meetings

Name: Floyd County Cares (monthly meetings)

Address: New Albany Elks Lodge #270, 426 Pearl St., New Albany, Ind.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/ClarkCntyCARES/posts/893620974100528

Name: Hope for Families

Address: Mosaic United Methodist Church 8008 St.Andrews Church Road, Louisville

When: Mondays, 8 p.m.

Name: Victory Comes After Surrender

Address: Beargrass Christian Church Room 114, 4100 Shelbyville Road, Louisville

When :Thursdays, 7 p.m.

Name: We're Not Alone

Address: Recreation Bldg (Behind U.S. Bank), 4019 Dixie Highway ,Louisville

When: Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m.

For more information about Nar-Anon support groups for loved ones of drug addicts please visit : http://www.nar-anon.org/

Needle Exchange

Name: Community Site

Address: 4603 Cane Run Riad, at the Lake Dreamland Fire Station

Hours: Thursdays, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m

Name: Community Site

Address:1455 Bicknell Ave. (corner of Bicknell and Taylor)

Hours: Wednesdays, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m

Name: Louisville Metro Syringe Exchange Program

Address: 400 East Gray St., Louisville

Phone number: (502) 574-6545

Website:https://louisvilleky.gov/sites/default/files/health_and_wellness/about_us/phone_directory_final_web.pdf

Name: Madison County Health Department

Address: 206 East 9th St., Anderson, Ind.

Phone number: (765) 641-9523

Website: http://www.madcohealth.org/

Name: Scott County Health Department

Address: 825 Highway 31 North, Austin Ind.

Phone number: (812) 794-2730

Naloxone Training

Name: Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition

Phone number: (502) 581-9728

Website: https://kyhrc.org/naloxone-and-overdose-response/

Distribution of Naloxone

Some options for over the counter Naloxone can be bought at a CVS pharmacy or Kroger pharmacy.