More ODs on Green today, more than 80 so far

An AMR mobile command truck is parked on the New Haven Green as crews spread out to treat numerous drug overdose victims in New Haven, Conn. on Thursday, August 16, 2018. Distribution of the illegal drug K-2 has resulted in a stream of overdoses, centered mainly on the Green, in the last two days. less An AMR mobile command truck is parked on the New Haven Green as crews spread out to treat numerous drug overdose victims in New Haven, Conn. on Thursday, August 16, 2018. Distribution of the illegal drug K-2 ... more Photo: Brian A. Pounds, Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Brian A. Pounds, Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 72 Caption Close More ODs on Green today, more than 80 so far 1 / 72 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Following a mass string of K2 overdoses Wednesday, the city was seeing more cases arise Thursday .

Officials said there were 17 more overdoses as of Thursday evening, though it is not known yet whether the substance was the same as the K2 that caused the overdoses over the previous 36 hours.

“I think this is a lot more than we have normally seen. We’ve had a couple of those outbreaks, but not to this level. Hopefully, today brings a different light,” city Office of Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana said about the cases that began Tuesday night.

Nationally, overdose deaths reached a record level of 72,000 in 2017, according to a recent federal report, The Associated Press reported. In Connecticut, there were 3,090 visits to hospital emergency rooms for suspected drug overdoses between January and April, Hearst has reported.

During a news conference Thursday, Mayor Toni N. Harp praised the response of fire, police and other emergency responders for their work to save lives. She noted the assistance of state agencies and Gov. Dannel Malloy and said several services would be added to those already available, including a recovery coach.

“The city’s response to this emergency has been exemplary,” she said.

But Harp said: “We know a coordinated response among all three levels of government will be required to meet this challenge.”

“We know that it is a chronic, relapsing disease,” Harp said. “We also know this is happening nationwide.”

Emergency personnel were run ragged Wednesday as crews responded to a total of 76 overdoses — 72 were taken to the hospital and four refused treatment — over the span of 24 hours, according to Fontana and Harp.

“It’s very reminiscent of a mass casualty incident. Multiple people that were suffering from overdoses at the same time. At one point, we had seven people, all at the same time, falling ill from the use of K2 on the Green,” Fontana said. “We saw firefighters, paramedics, police officers running in different directions, attending to these people in a short period of time. There was no one who stayed on the ground longer than two minutes on this Green yesterday.”

Police Chief Anthony Campbell said some of the victims were “repeat offenders,” needing to be transported to the hospital multiple times.

Douglas Gerald said he was sitting on a park bench when he looked over his shoulder and saw two people on the ground.

“I happened to look over and saw them passing out, so I ran and got help. They were shaking and holding onto each other, so I figured it was K2-related,” he said.

Douglas said it was scary to see them like that. “People have got to be careful what they use today. They have to be careful,” he said.

Yale New Haven Hospital Center for EMS Medical Director Dr. Sandy Bogucki said the K2 involved with the overdoses was a short- and rapid-acting form of the drug, so people who smoked the synthetic marijuana “tended to go down very fast — almost right in their tracks — and although many of them had to be resuscitated … the effects did not last long, and they were able to be discharged from the hospital fairly soon, which meant they were able to return to the Green to seek another high.”

The state Department of Mental Health and Addictive Services as well as Cornell Scott Hill Health Center were stationed on the Green Thursday to provide individuals with cold beverages, food and basic medical services.

Douglas Bruce, chief of medicine at Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, said the community health center set up a triage unit to help out, “as not everyone using K2 on the Green needs to go to the emergency room.”

Bruce said they have been working cooperatively with the city, police and AMR and have Narcan and basic medical equipment on site.

Police have arrested two people, who are not being named at this time, in connection with the overdoses. Campbell said the two men are known to police for selling K2 in the past.

Many of the victims told police they didn’t purchase K2 but were given free samples, and Campbell believes one of the men was trying to get people addicted, thereby establishing a clientele.

“We will have a continued presence on the New Haven Green, both today and in the days to come, to ensure that no further victims can purchase or no further sales can be done (there),” Campbell said.

Fontana said that the Drug Enforcement Administration office in New York confirmed that what was in a joint taken from one victim was K2, a potent, synthetic cannabinoid, and was not laced with any opioid.

One of the patients admitted to the hospital did test positive for fentanyl in his toxicology screen, although it may have been from a separate injection or injections, he said.

Fontana said, only a small percentage of the patients have been confirmed to have had fentanyl in their systems.

“It’s very difficult to differentiate who did what, but we do know most of those folks who smoked the K2 actually were tested by the DEA in the New York laboratory, and that came back as synthetic K2 without the presence of any opioid or synthetic fentanyl,” he said.

Harp said the city has been working tirelessly over the past four years to address the issues on the Green. Moving forward, she said she wants to provide preventive services on the Green.

She said the state DMHAS will provide recovery coaches, training and dissemination of Narcan, as well as help to find a street psychiatrist.

She said it was brought to the city’s attention that since K2 is such a fast-acting drug, when people come down they want to get high again. She said if New Haven had a way to prescribe Suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, immediately, then it could help with withdrawal.

“We’re eager to raise awareness at the highest levels of the federal government for a better sense of what happened and the challenges that urban centers face in terms of combating a persistent, vexing presence of people with substance-induced disorder,” Harp said.

As Proprietors of the Green, the group that has owned the land since 1641, said in a statement: “we are aware that this beautiful community space has become a ‘hang out’ for people from across Connecticut who come to New Haven to treat their addictions. Unfortunately, a side effect is that the Green has become a space for those who have relapsed, seek to deal or acquire drugs, drink excessively or get high in a space that is intended for the enjoyment of all who live in this city.”

“We have been in conversations with city officials, business leaders and other concerned citizens who want to improve the conditions of the Green and homeless people. We have a crisis that requires our immediate attention and the participation of the city, our universities, our business community, our professional and community workers and our neighborhood residents,” the statement said.

City Director of Communications Laurence Grotheer said Harp has been in touch with the state, which has pledged resources to the city in terms of outreach workers and counselors.

“As the mayor described yesterday, New Haven seems to be on the frontlines of the national concern, and it’s imperative all levels of government kind of focus on prevention and treatment resources,” Grotheer said.

Meanwhile, Malloy ordered officials from the Department of Public Health and DMHAS to remain in regular contact with New Haven officials to help the city in its response efforts. The support the state provided is:

DPH delivered 50 doses of naloxone to the city to replenish the supply used by first responders during the last 24 hours. DPH officials also helped the city secure high-dosage naloxone.

DPH facilitated prompt dissemination of data to the city’s emergency response agencies.

In addition to state staff, DMHAS deployed its network of community providers and health professionals to assist emergency responders . A group of psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, medical and homeless outreach staff joined emergency crews at the scene.

State Senate Republican President Len Fasano, a tax attorney with an office in New Haven, said in a statement: “I love New Haven and what happened yesterday not only raises moral questions and is scary to our residents, but it is a deterrent to people coming here and staying here. Mayor Harp’s administration needs to act swiftly and decisively to take control over the problems that have festered on the New Haven Green and surrounding areas to prevent the Elm City from becoming a ghost town.”

Fasano said the incident was “disturbing and heartbreaking. It speaks to a painful and ugly reality about drug abuse we have to work together to combat. ... The Green is just steps away from City Hall, and town officials know drug use on the Green was not limited to just what happened yesterday. There is a known problem there that occurs every day and has not been addressed. People are suffering and those who need help have been ignored.”

Fasano said he’s hoping the incident will be a wakeup call.

But Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said in a statement that Fasano’s “response to a public health emergency shows just how out of touch Republicans are” and that “his attempts to paint the city and its residents with a broad brush are beneath him.”

“In light of yesterday’s public health emergency on the New Haven Green, I want to acknowledge the rapid response organized by New Haven Fire Chief John Alston, Police Chief Anthony Campbell and Emergency Operations Director Rick Fontana. We should also acknowledge the expert care and response of all of our fire, police and EMS personnel on the scene and the medical staff at Yale New Haven Hospital.”

The Board of Alders scheduled a citywide public hearing in response to the opioid epidemic and need for better substance-abuse treatment to be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 at aldermanic chambers in City Hall, 165 Church St.

jessica.lerner@hearstmediact.com; @jesslerner on Twitter