DRUG-RELATED VISITS TO CITY'S ERS DOWN

City Health Officer Links 19% Drop To Rise In Treatment Funding

The number of drug-related emergency room visits has dropped sharply in
Baltimore in the past year - evidence, the city's top health official said,
that a significant increase in drug treatment funding is paying off.

The reported 19 percent decline represents particularly good news for the
city, which dropped from No. 1 in the country in overall drug-related
emergency visits to No. 3.

Baltimore, which has an estimated 60,000 illegal drug users, was one of
only two cities nationwide to show a decline from 1999 to 2000, according
to a report of the Drug Abuse Warning Network.

Overall, the number of drug-related emergency visits in Baltimore dropped
from 14,172 to 11,505.

Cocaine-related emergency visits declined nearly 29 percent, from 6,921 to
4,943, while heroin-related visits dropped 23 percent, from 7,013 to 5,414.

Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, the city's health commissioner, called the drop
"truly outstanding" yesterday and said it can be attributed to a
substantial boost in drug-treatment funding.

Beilenson said it was "not coincidental" that Baltimore and San Francisco
were the only cities to show declines, because both have stepped up efforts
to provide "treatment on demand" to those who need it.

This year, Baltimore is spending $46 million on treatment efforts, up from
about $17 million to $18 million three or four years ago, Beilenson said.
The number of people receiving help has almost doubled during that period,
from about 11,000 to 20,000.

Spending on treatment will increase again next year, to $55 million, which
Beilenson predicted would translate into a further drop in drug-related
hospital visits.

"We think this decline will continue over the next several years," he said.

Devang Gandhi, medical director of the University of Maryland Medical
Center's intensive outpatient drug-treatment program, said he was surprised
by the news, because the number of overdose deaths in Baltimore has risen
in recent years.

He called the change "impressive."

"I'm very excited that we're seeing a drop in cocaine and heroin [emergency
room visits], heroin particularly," he said.

Gandhi said increased city funding for drug treatment could have played a
"major role" in the drop, but other external factors also may have contributed.

Some hospitals might not have been included in the study, he said, or the
addict population may have shifted or switched drugs.

Gandhi also noted an increase - particularly among young addicts - in
inhaling heroin, which he said decreases the likelihood of overdose and may
reduce emergency room visits.

There were an estimated 601,776 drug-related emergency visits in the United
States last year, according to the DAWN report, which was released
Wednesday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The number of visits nationally increased 20 percent for patients between
the ages of 12 and 17, and 13 percent for patients 18 to 25. The number of
visits remained about the same for older age groups, according to the study
of 21 cities.

San Francisco showed a 12 percent decline, with the number of visits
falling from 8,930 to 7,857.

Seven cities showed an overall increase. Seattle topped the list with a 32
percent increase, followed by Boston's 28 percent increase. Los Angeles and
Miami showed increases of 22 percent and 20 percent, respectively.