STUDIES SAY EMERGENCY METH CASES PUTTING HOSPITALS IN A FIX

A sharp increase in the number of people arriving in emergency rooms with
methamphetamine-related problems is straining local hospital budgets and
treatment facilities across the country, particularly in the Midwest,
according to two surveys to be released in Washington today.

The studies, conducted late last year by the National Association of
Counties, are another indicator of the toll the drug has taken on
local communities, particularly in rural areas where social service
networks are ill-equipped to deal with the consequences. In July, the
association reported that an overwhelming number of sheriffs polled
nationwide declared methamphetamine their No. 1 law enforcement problem.

In the most recent survey, conducted late last year, 73 percent of the
200 county and regional hospitals polled said they had seen an
increase in the number of people visiting emergency rooms for
methamphetamine-related problems over the last five years; 68 percent
reported a continued increase in the last three years, and 45 percent
in the last year.

The problem was particularly intense in the middle of the country: 70
percent of hospitals in the Midwest and 80 percent in the Upper
Midwest said methamphetamine accounted for 10 percent of their
patients. Nationwide, 14 percent of the hospitals said such cases made
up 20 percent of their emergency room visits.

Methamphetamine users are often unable to hold down jobs because of
the highly addictive nature of the drug, meaning they are often
uninsured, the hospitals say. Yet many hospitals are required to treat
them under state laws.

"These are labor-intensive cases, and the money that's put out is
money that the hospitals won't recover," said Jeri Reese, an emergency
room nurse manager in Greene County, Iowa, who is scheduled to speak
at a news conference explaining the survey results.

Fifty-six percent of hospitals said their costs had risen because of
the growing abuse of the drug.

Methamphetamine is often made in small home laboratories using toxic
household chemicals. Many of the people who arrive at emergency rooms
because of methamphetamine have been burned making it or are children
who have been exposed to the chemicals.

Users frequently develop rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure and
fevers that can reach 105 degrees. And because the drug's neurological
side effects frequently include aggressive behavior and paranoia, the
hospitals say they deal with many victims of fights or beatings.

"They're so unpredictable and erratic that when someone comes in, you
have to have separate staff just to watch them," Ms. Reese said.

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In Arkansas, where the problem has increased in severity recently, 78
percent of the hospitals said costs had increased.

In the second survey, 69 percent of the hospitals reported an
increased demand for treatment for methamphetamine abuse, which tends
to be long and intensive. And 63 percent of the hospitals said they
did not have enough capacity to meet demand.

"It has really rocked us," said Patrick Fleming, director of the Salt
Lake County Division of Substance Abuse Services in Utah, who is also
scheduled to speak in Washington. "People are staying in treatment
slots longer, so I can't spin those beds to someone else. My waiting
lists are mounting like crazy."

Though a relatively small number of total emergency room visits are
for illicit drugs, the hospitals said methamphetamine was by far the
leading drug problem. Forty-seven percent of hospitals, and 57 percent
in the Northwest, said methamphetamine caused more emergency room
visits than any other drug, while 16 percent cited marijuana, 15
percent cocaine and 1 percent heroin.

The association of counties and many local officials have criticized
the Bush administration's antidrug strategy as focusing too much on
marijuana. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
began running television advertisements against methamphetamine last
month and has increased some grants for treatment.

Many states have gone further, restricting sales of pseudoephedrine,
the crucial ingredient in methamphetamine, and the association said it
planned to use the hospital surveys to encourage the federal
government to follow suit.

The association also said it wanted more federal money for
compensation for hospitals tending to the uninsured, as well as for
treatment care, programs to help affected children and continued law
enforcement grants for regional drug task forces.