Mass Overdose Event In Baltimore Hospitalizes More Than 2 Dozen
The event, caused by a bad batch of an unspecified drug, prompted a surge in 911 calls. Experts think a potent batch of fentanyl might have caused the overdoses and that the specific blend is still out there. Other states making news: Iowa, New York, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
The Baltimore Sun:
Baltimore Overdose: 911 Calls Peaked A Day After 'Bad Batch'
City data shows that more 911 calls for overdoses were placed in Baltimore on Thursday, the day of a mass overdose event that sent more than two dozen people to hospitals, than on any other day this year — except for the next day. Overdose-related 911 calls were more than triple this year’s daily average on both Thursday, the day a batch of drugs caused a chaotic scene of illness in the Penn North neighborhood, and Friday, where data shows 29 more calls for overdoses throughout the city. (Belson, 7/14)
Iowa Public Radio:
Iowa Officials Announce End To A Program For Severe Mental Health And Behavioral Issues
State officials' plan to end a program for Iowans who have severe mental illness in the next six months has left providers and family members concerned about the future of care. The Integrated Health Home program (IHH) is a Medicaid-covered network of professionals who coordinate care for Iowans with severe mental illnesses. (Krebs, 7/14)
AP:
NY Clerk Again Refuses To Enforce Texas Judgment Against Doctor Who Provided Abortion Pills
A county clerk in New York on Monday again refused to file a more than $100,000 civil judgment from Texas against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a Dallas-area woman. New York is among eight states with shield laws that protect providers from other states’ reach. Abortion opponents claim the laws violate a constitutional requirement that states respect the laws and legal judgments of other states. (Hill, 7/14)
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer:
Blood Transfusions At Trauma Scenes: How Cleveland EMS Is Saving Lives
When someone is losing blood from a gunshot wound or serious car crash, minutes count. Now, Cleveland trauma victims have a better chance of survival, thanks to new initiatives aimed at administering whole blood transfusions before patients arrive at the emergency department’s doors. (Washington, 7/15)
The Charlotte Ledger:
Charlotte’s New Med School: High-Tech, Hands-On
When the Charlotte campus of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine holds its first classes this week, it marks more than the arrival of the city’s first four-year medical school. It also brings to North Carolina a novel approach to training doctors — one that ditches the traditional cadaver lab and old-school lectures in favor of virtual dissection, lifelike robots and a new curriculum built around medical problem-solving. (Crouch, 7/15)
CIDRAP:
Pennsylvania Identifies CWD Case Near Allegheny County
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been identified in Armstrong County, posing a risk of spread to suburban and urban areas with high deer densities, given the location northeast of Pittsburgh. The disease was found following tests on a severely emaciated doe that was euthanized and tested in early June, Andrea Korman, MS, who supervises the CWD division at the Pennsylvania Game Commission, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The deer was found near the city of Freeport, near the Allegheny County line. (Schnirring, 7/14)
