May 26, 2019 8: 20p
(WGTD)---Three people died of suspected drug overdoses in Kenosha County in a single day this weekend.
"It's highly concerning that we had three suspected overdose deaths within such a short time span," said Kenosha County Medical Examiner Patrice Hall in a news release.
Hall said the victims ranged in age from the 20s to the 50s and all died within a 12-hour period on Saturday. Two were men one was a woman. One death occurred in the city. A second happened in Twin Lakes. A third person was prounounced dead at St. Catherine's Medical Center in Pleasant Prairie after being taken there from Antioch, making it a Kenosha County death investigation.
All three victims are suspected of using either cocaine or heroin, or a combination of both.
In addition to the fatal cases, the Kenosha Fire Dept. responded on Saturday to two other non-fatal overdose calls, the release said.
KFD Emergency Medical Services Division Chief Jim Poltrock said that the department has handled an unusually high number of overdose cases in recent weeks. This includes 43 overdose calls between April 20th and May 26th, 30 of which were opioid related. Most of those cases were not fatal.
The rush of cases comes after the number of toxicity-related deaths in Kenosha County in 2018 actually declined 19% from 2017. The news release from the county didn't speculate on whether 2019 will end with an overall increase.
Officials said plenty of resources are available for people seeking help.
In Kenosha County, the list includes the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Resource Center at 262-657-7188. Narcotics anonymous can be reached at 262-653-9800. Heroin Anonymous, operated by the Southport Recovery Club, is at 262-552-6879.
In addition, free Narcan training and the drug itself is available by calling 262-605-6741.
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