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Taunton police, medical professionals report sharp increase in drug overdoses
http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20140205/NEWS/140207927/1994/NEWSTaunton police, medical professionals report sharp increase in drug overdoses
TAUNTON — January was a deadly month for heroin users in Greater Taunton.
Morton Hospital and Taunton police both reported an increase in recent drug overdoses, including a suspected fatal overdose in downtown Taunton on Sunday.
“We’ve recently seen an uptick in drug-related overdoses brought to our emergency room,” said Julie Masci, a spokeswoman for Morton Hospital in Taunton. “We recognize this concern in our community and we are doing all we can to help address it.”
In the month of January alone, Morton Hospital said 43 patients were brought to the emergency room for drug overdoses. During the entire year of 2013, the hospital saw 129 total overdoses, Masci said. January’s one-month total equals one-third the number of overdoses treated over the preceding 12-month period.