By Steven Goode
New Haven Register
NEW HAVEN, Conn. 鈥� City officials are waiting on lab results to get more clarity on what triggered a weekend in which 19 people overdosed on drugs, including one fatality.
Mayor Justin Elicker said there was not much new to share, but added that city officials don鈥檛 have any indication that the spate of overdoses was the result of a 鈥渂ad batch鈥� of drugs. Becky Rubenstein, a public educator with the New Haven Department of Health, said Thursday that lab results are 鈥渟till pending. 鈥�
Data indicates the overdoses are being attributed to 鈥渙pioids and stimulants,鈥� she said.
Rubenstein said officials don鈥檛 yet have a reason to believe that there is something new on the market but will continue to monitor this with harm reduction and law enforcement partners.
鈥淲e also strongly encourage individuals who use substances to take them to Yale Community Health Care Van鈥檚 free drug testing location at 270 Congress Ave. or to call them at (203) 996-0162,鈥� she said.
The New Haven Health Department also offers free test strips at 424 Chapel St. or by calling 203-946-6999, she said.
Officials spoke about the weekend overdoses at an event Thursday to discuss life-saving classes being offered at city libraries between now and November, including how to administer Narcan nasal spray, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.
Among those in attendance was Joel LaChance, who said he was doing his usual bike ride through East Rock Park in January when he had a heart attack. He didn鈥檛 know what had happened until a week later when he woke up in the hospital with tubes going in and out of his body.
What he learned was that a group called Friends of East Rock Park was working in the area on eradicating some invasive plants. They came upon him shortly after he passed them on his ride and administered live-saving CPR until an ambulance arrived.
鈥淭hirty seconds either way and I wouldn鈥檛 be here,鈥� said LaChance, 73. 鈥淚 got to meet them. It was cool and I thanked them.鈥�
LaChance鈥檚 story is not an unusual one. Across the country 1,000 people a day suffer cardiac arrest outside of hospital settings, but only one in six New Haven residents are saved outside of a hospital setting with a non-medical professional when they suffer a heart attack.
鈥淲e want to make that six of six,鈥� Elicker said Thursday at the Fair Haven Free Public Library.
That branch and others in the city will be offering life-saving classes between now and November. A total of nine classes with a maximum of 35 people each, children included, will be offered to residents, who will be trained how to perform CPR, how to administer an AED and how to administer Narcan nasal spray.
The free training is a partnership between the city, the Yale School of Medicine and the library. Thursday鈥檚 announcement come as the country observes CPR and AED awareness week.
Dr. David Yang, instructor of emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, said Thursday that his organization can arrange for more training sessions if there are more people than slots available for the training, but he added that he believes the most important part of Thursday鈥檚 announcement is developing an ongoing relationship that will continue providing training to city residents.
New Haven Alder Caroline Tanbee Smith 鈥� 9th ward- agreed.
Tanbee Smith said she knew about community CPR training, but it really hit home when her friend Joel LaChance was saved by it. That led to her becoming part of the effort to introduce the new program.
鈥淟et鈥檚 make CPR a part of what it means to be a New Havener,鈥� she said.
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