Milwaukee County overdose deaths; possible 'bad batch,' officials say

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Fire Department reported on Tuesday, April 4 that Milwaukee County has seen 17 overdose deaths since Saturday, April 1 – a record.

A news release says the number of deaths from the weekend indicates the possibility of a "bad batch." The average age of those affected is 50 years old. Out of the 14 identified addresses, ten were in the City of Milwaukee, one in West Allis, and one in South Milwaukee.

"The statistics behind these individuals are more men than women, more white than Black, average age is about 50, but we've got a range of 22 to 83," said Sara Schreiber of the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.

Schreiber said the substances involved in the deaths are not yet identified – and autopsies are pending. She was later asked to define what a "bad batch" was.

""In my heart, I feel like it speaks to something that you didn't expect to be there. You thought you were consuming something that was known. I asked for cocaine, I purchased cocaine, and then I didn't get cocaine. And now it's got something in it that I wasn't expecting," Schreiber said.

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Officials say with one death every 16 hours, the overdose epidemic has become a public health crisis. They highlighted the urgency and dangers of dangerous drugs like fentanyl cut into cocaine, heroin, and opioids.

"This is not just an opioid addiction problem," said Milwaukee Assistant Fire Chief Joshua Parish.

Officials say this public health crisis requires immediate action, and it is up to everyone to take steps to prevent further overdoses and deaths. 

"In the last three days, it's been one death every four hours for opioid from opioid overdose we've seen in Milwaukee County," said Dr. Ben Weston, Chief Health Policy Advisory for Milwaukee County. "To put this a different way, we usually see one to two deaths per day, but in the last three days, we've seen six overdose deaths each and every day. These numbers are staggering and certainly represent a spike from what we're used to seeing in our community, unfortunately."

"We have got to get past the stigmatism that is applied to overdose all the time. This is, at its core, this is a mental health disease," said Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski. "This is no different than if you have heart trouble, or you have diabetes or whatever; high blood pressure. This is no different than that. We've got to stop dumping on people because they are stuck in this cycle."

"To lose 17 human beings over, just since Saturday, would be considered a mass casualty event if it wasn't associated with drug addiction," said Milwaukee Alderman Michael Murphy.

The founder of Samad's House in Milwaukee spoke at Tuesday's news conference. The website for Samad's House says it creates "an environment that provides individuals who have a history of substance abuse with the necessary tools to manage sobriety, restore families and comfortably re-acclimate into society."

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"Many times we think someone is just sleeping, and they're overdosing. We can't continue to miss the signs. We are all in this together. So please, reach out, we're here. We're not going to stigmatize you. We don't want to know your specifics. We just want you to live another day," said Tahira Malik, Samad's House in Milwaukee.

Officials highlighted the connection between housing and health outcomes. They are urging people, churches, businesses, and schools to stock up on free fentanyl drug tests and Narcan kits. 

 "This represents the only hope we have, when the entire system has failed and the person is overdosing. And anybody can do it," Lipski said.

The MFD has distributed 3,151 Narcan Hope Kits (Narcan/Test Strips) since January 2022, with just over 1,000 of those distributed by field companies during a response to an overdose. Hope kits can be obtained at any Milwaukee fire or police station, or a fire truck you see in the community.