Sam Hemingway

Free Press Staff Writer

Fletcher Allen Health Care's emergency department handled a sudden rash of heroin overdose cases Tuesday, sparking concerns that a potentially lethal form of the drug is circulating in parts of Chittenden County.

Dr. Stephen Leffler, chief medical officer for the Burlington hospital, said that by mid-afternoon, the emergency department had treated eight people for overdoses in about a seven-hour period that began at 8 a.m.

"We might usually see eight overdoses over a couple of months," Leffler said. "This was a once-in-a-five-year event."

All eight had stopped breathing, he added.

Leffler said the eight were treated with Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opiate overdose. All survived, he said, but there were a couple of close calls. Two remained hospitalized as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"Some required multiple doses of Narcan," he said. "They would wake up after a shot and then get sleepy again, because whatever what inside them was still affecting them."

Leffler said the eight overdoses came from four communities: Colchester, South Burlington, Williston and Winooski. He said the cases were not clustered in any one area, and the cases seemed unconnected to each other.

Leffler said it appeared heroin was the drug that caused the overdose.

"It was some kind of narcotic," he said. "They all said it was heroin. They all had stopped breathing."

Leffler said the hospital had been in contact with police departments for the four communities, and FAHC was disclosing the rash of overdoses publicly out of concern that a particularly strong and potentially lethal form of heroin is circulating.

"Something is going on with the supply in the area," Leffler said.

Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling said he was unaware of the overdoses until informed about them by a reporter.

Schirling said the overdoses suggest a potent form of heroin with a "hot shot" — either heroin that was too pure or an alternative substance — had been mixed in with the drug.

In late January, a batch of heroin that contained fentanyl resulted in the deaths of three Addison County residents. Fentanyl is an opioid which, in its pure form, is 50 times more powerful than heroin. Police have been unable to determine the source of the fentanyl-laced heroin.

Leffler said some of the eight overdose patients had received an initial shot of Narcan prior to arriving at the hospital. Narcan recently has been touted by state and national officials as a lifesaving medication in overdose situations.

The Vermont State Police recently began carrying doses of Narcan on their patrols.

Tuesday's disclosure came as Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin was in Washington to participate in an addiction and criminal justice forum on Capitol Hill.

Shumlin spent his entire State of the State address in January on the subject and has called the heroin problem in Vermont a "crisis." He has called on lawmakers to increase spending on addiction treatment and prevention.

Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or shemingway@freepressmedia.com. Follow Sam on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SamuelHemingway.