February 11, 2009 3:26 PM
- Text
Soldiers Dying Of Accidental Overdoses
(CBS/AP)
There have been at least three accidental drug overdoses and four suicides among soldiers in special units the Army set up last summer to help war-wounded troops, officials said late Thursday.
A team of pharmacists and other military officials met early this week at the Pentagon to look into the deaths in so-called "warrior transition units" - established to give sick, injured and wounded troops coordinated medical care, financial advice, legal help and other services as they attempt to make the transition toward either a return to uniform or back into civilian life.
The Army said officials had determined that among those troops there have been 11 deaths that were not due to natural causes between June and Feb. 5.
That included four suicides, three accidental overdoses of prescribed medications, three deaths still under investigation and one motor vehicle accident, the Army said.
Current Walter Reed patient Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside tried to kill herself just a few weeks ago but was found and saved, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.
"Army medical and safety professionals continue to remind soldiers and their families of the importance of prescription-drug safety precautions, including following the printed directions and information for each medicine," the Army said of the overdoses in a statement Thursday.
Noting the death of actor Heath Ledger, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker last week first disclosed the issue of drug overdoses in the 35 special transition units, which care for more than 9,500 soldiers.
"What we're seeing is the use of medications, especially in combination with alcohol," Schoomaker told CBS News'The Early Show.
Schoomaker didn't have statistics with him at the time and said he didn't know whether the number of overdoses among soldiers was on the rise. He said the series of deaths in the new units was noticed and getting attention partly because the units concentrate the Army's temporarily disabled and ill troops into special groups, thus making it possible for leaders to track and tabulate their health issues more closely and carefully than ever before.
"This isn't restricted to the military, alone, as we all saw the unfortunate death of one of our leading actors recently," Schoomaker told Pentagon reporters. He made his comments the day after The New York medical examiner announced that Ledger, the 28-year-old "Brokeback Mountain" star, died Jan. 22 from an accidental overdose - the effects of taking several types of painkillers and sedatives.
He made the comment about overdoses when asked to comment on recent Army suicide figures. Preliminary figures show that, as of last month, officials had confirmed 89 suicides last year among all active duty and activated National Guard and Reserve - and that another 32 deaths were still under investigation. If all are confirmed, the total of 121 would be nearly a 20 percent increase over 2006.
It was a 2003 suicide of a master sergeant James Coons that went undiscovered for a week that first drew world attention to the outpatient care problem, reports Dozier.
Statistics show accidental overdoses have become a national problem, with the deaths from accidental ingestion of multiple prescription drugs now exceeding deaths from illegal drugs, Schoomaker said.
"We need to identify those patients who are at highest risk and educate their families and do -- limit the issues that are contributing to these deaths," Schoomaker told The Early Show.
The transition units are part of deep and numerous changes the Army has made in its medical system since shoddy outpatient housing and bureaucratic delays were exposed last year at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
A team of pharmacists and other military officials met early this week at the Pentagon to look into the deaths in so-called "warrior transition units" - established to give sick, injured and wounded troops coordinated medical care, financial advice, legal help and other services as they attempt to make the transition toward either a return to uniform or back into civilian life.
The Army said officials had determined that among those troops there have been 11 deaths that were not due to natural causes between June and Feb. 5.
That included four suicides, three accidental overdoses of prescribed medications, three deaths still under investigation and one motor vehicle accident, the Army said.
Current Walter Reed patient Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside tried to kill herself just a few weeks ago but was found and saved, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.
"Army medical and safety professionals continue to remind soldiers and their families of the importance of prescription-drug safety precautions, including following the printed directions and information for each medicine," the Army said of the overdoses in a statement Thursday.
Noting the death of actor Heath Ledger, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker last week first disclosed the issue of drug overdoses in the 35 special transition units, which care for more than 9,500 soldiers.
"What we're seeing is the use of medications, especially in combination with alcohol," Schoomaker told CBS News'The Early Show.
Schoomaker didn't have statistics with him at the time and said he didn't know whether the number of overdoses among soldiers was on the rise. He said the series of deaths in the new units was noticed and getting attention partly because the units concentrate the Army's temporarily disabled and ill troops into special groups, thus making it possible for leaders to track and tabulate their health issues more closely and carefully than ever before.
"This isn't restricted to the military, alone, as we all saw the unfortunate death of one of our leading actors recently," Schoomaker told Pentagon reporters. He made his comments the day after The New York medical examiner announced that Ledger, the 28-year-old "Brokeback Mountain" star, died Jan. 22 from an accidental overdose - the effects of taking several types of painkillers and sedatives.
He made the comment about overdoses when asked to comment on recent Army suicide figures. Preliminary figures show that, as of last month, officials had confirmed 89 suicides last year among all active duty and activated National Guard and Reserve - and that another 32 deaths were still under investigation. If all are confirmed, the total of 121 would be nearly a 20 percent increase over 2006.
It was a 2003 suicide of a master sergeant James Coons that went undiscovered for a week that first drew world attention to the outpatient care problem, reports Dozier.
Statistics show accidental overdoses have become a national problem, with the deaths from accidental ingestion of multiple prescription drugs now exceeding deaths from illegal drugs, Schoomaker said.
"We need to identify those patients who are at highest risk and educate their families and do -- limit the issues that are contributing to these deaths," Schoomaker told The Early Show.
The transition units are part of deep and numerous changes the Army has made in its medical system since shoddy outpatient housing and bureaucratic delays were exposed last year at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Latest Now in National
- Coroner in Ohio changes ruling in 1972 death
- APNewsBreak: Satellite spots tanks in Syrian city
- APNewsBreak: Satellite spots tanks in Syrian city
- Ill. Sen. Mark Kirk moved to stroke rehab center
- Comedian's BYU black history video goes viral
- Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse
- Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse
- Fight breaks out at a funeral in Phoenix
- Mom who threw tot in NY river can go home to India
- Schoolgirls excluded from Dallas movie screening
- Woman pleads guilty in NY newborn kidnap case
- Developer may open rival Philadelphia newspaper
- Developer may open rival Philadelphia newspaper
- Dad of NYC subway bomb plotter gets 4 ½ years
- Dispatcher on Powell call: Case a 'nightmare'
- Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse
- Serial killer's tip leads to remains of 2nd body
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook
on CBS News
- How Jason Wu picks models, tweaks looks for runway
- Libertine Fashion Week show big on embellishment
- Libertine Fashion Week show big on embellishment
- Huge art work honoring Havel on display in Prague
on Facebook
- Adele sings a cappella for Anderson Cooper
- Adele sings a cappella for Anderson Cooper
- Beyonce and Jay-Z post first photos of Blue Ivy Carter
on CBS News
