Hospitals Say Meth Cases Are Rising, And Hurt Care

 

January 18, 2006, Wednesday

By KATE ZERNIKE (NYT)

 

A sharp increase in the number of people arriving in emergency rooms with methamphetamine-related problems is straining hospital budges and treatment facilities across the country, particularly in the Midwest, according to two surveys to be released today in Washington.

 

The studies conducted late last year by the Nation Association of Counties, are yet another indicator of the toll the drug has taken on communities, particularly in rural areas where social service networks are ill-equipped to deal with the consequences. In July, the association reported that an overwhelming number of sheriffs polled nationwide declared methamphetamine their No.1 law enforcement problem.

 

In the most recent survey, conducted late last year, 73 percent of the 200 county and regional hospitals polled said they had seen an increase in the number of people visiting emergency rooms for methamphetamine-related problems over the last five years; 68 percent reported a continued increase in the last three years, and 45 percent in the last year.

 

The problem was particularly intense in the middle of the country; 70 percent of hospitals in the Midwest and 80 percent in the Upper Midwest said meth accounted for 10 percent of their patients. Nationwide, 14 percent of the hospitals said meth cases made up 20 percent of their emergency room visits.

 

Methamphetamine users are often unable to hold jobs because of the highly addictive nature of the drug, meaning they are often uninsured, the hospitals say. Yet many hospitals are required to treat them under state laws.

 

“These are labor-intensive cases, and the money that’s put out is money that the hospitals won’t recover,” said Jeri Reese, an emergency room nurse manager in Greene County, Iowa, who is scheduled to speak at a news conference explaining the survey results. Fifty-six percent of hospitals said their costs had risen because of the growing abuse of the drug.

 

Methamphetamine is often made in small home laboratories using toxin household chemicals. Many of the people who arrive at emergency rooms because of meth have been burned making it or are children who have been exposed to the chemicals.

 

Users frequently develop rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure and fevers that can reach 105 degrees. And because the drug’s neurological side effects frequently include aggressive behavior and paranoia, the hospitals say they deal with many victims of fights or beatings.

 

“They’re so unpredictable and erratic that when someone comes in, you have to have separate staff just to watch them,” Ms. Reese said.