New numbers from the NYC Health Department show that deaths from heroin overdoses soared nearly 160 percent in the city from 2010 to 2015. Overdose rates on Staten Island remain among the highest in the city. NY1's Bree Driscoll spoke with doctors in the borough trying to reverse the trend.
Doctors on the frontlines of Staten Island's heroin crisis say the problem has taken an ominous turn.
"We are seeing an emergence of a new heroin that has been laced with another medication that is called fentanyl, which is about 200 times more potent," said Dr. Mansoor Khan, the chairman of the emergency department at Richmond University Medical Center.
Fentanyl is a powerful pain reliever typically prescribed to cancer patients.
Doctors told NY1 that addicts are now turning to the drug because it gives them an almost immediate, stronger high. However, its potency also makes it more deadly, and users often do not initially respond to overdose antidotes.
"In order to reverse this heroin, you have to use a large dose of Narcan," Dr. Khan said.
Dr. Khan adds that recognizing the difference between someone overdosing on heroin or heroin with Fentanyl can be difficult. For that reason, he trains his staff to spot the difference, which can be determined by how a patient reacts to Narcan, which reverses the effects of heroin.
Another trend on the radar of Staten Island doctors is that narcotic abuse is no longer a disease of the young.
"Over-the-counter narcotics are so much more common. So you will see people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s overdosing in ways we would not have seen a decade ago," said Dr. Brahim Ardolic, the chairman of emergency medicine at Staten Island University Hospital.
One bright spot, doctors say, is that the number of people fatally overdosing on painkillers has declined 8 percent on Staten Island in the last year. In addition, heroin overdoses are down by 2 percent, according to Department of Health statistics.
Some attribute the drop to more rescue personnel carrying Narcan and it being more readily available to the public.
To combat the epidemic, Staten Island University Hospital's ERs have begun providing overdose rescue kits and training to anyone who requests the life saving drug.
"And on top of that, if we identify that some is at risk we ask them if they would like to have one available," Ardolic said.
Doctors, however, point out that there is no immediate answer to combating the drug epidemic. One thing they both suggest is early intervention and teaching children from a young age the dangers of drugs.