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In January, the Center for Investigative Reporting disclosed skyrocketing opiate prescriptions a the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Tomah, Wisc. quintupled between 2004 and 2012. A CIR and the La Crosse Tribune follow-up on the opiate abuse now looks at the ripple effect in that rural community, finding that in the past five years, there were 2,000 911 calls from hospital employees for battery and burglary, attempted kidnapping and 24 unexpected deaths.
From the story:
“Hospital staff have discovered younger veterans stealing from elderly patients and others dealing VA-prescribed painkillers and shooting OxyContin and heroin on hospital grounds… VA police reports document… veterans tossing wheelchairs across rooms and a trash can out of a window, setting fire to magazines, wielding a meat cleaver.”
Read the full story here.