BREAKING: Prison guards, inmates treated for drug exposure

CHILLICOTHE — The Ohio State Highway Patrol has been called to an Ohio prison where guards and inmates are being treated for possible drug exposure.

Patrol spokesman Lt. Robert Sellers tells the Chillicothe Gazette the patrol was notified of the situation about 9 a.m. and several officers and medics responded.

The paper says guards and inmates at Ross Correctional Institution have been administered naloxone. The widely used drug is used to combat overdoses caused by opioids such as heroin or fentanyl. The prison is about 44 miles south of Columbus.

The Gazette stated that the State Highway Patrol reports 15 correctional officers, five nurses and one inmate have been exposed to drugs.

Messages were left for the prisons system, the patrol and the union representing correctional officers.

Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe said in a news release that family members of patients who were transported to ARMC should go to the hospital’s north entrance and identify themselves as RCI family and they will be taken to a waiting area.

The medical center said further updates will be provided as details become available.

Information from: Chillicothe Gazette, http://www.chillicothegazette.com

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From wire and staff reports