Drug Use at Calif. Rave Challenges Hospital ER

Aug. 07--The pace is rarely slow at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center during the weekend.

But it was heart-poundingly faster when Live Nation Entertainment's Hard Summer musical festival came into town, with ambulances transporting overdosing rave goers from the Los Angeles County fairgrounds to hospitals.

Dr. Bradford Hardesty saw one man so irate that he had to be sedated to keep him safe as well as the nurses and doctors. His heart rate was up more than 200 beats per minute -- double the normal rate.

"It had taken multiple police officers to hold him down. It took almost five or six staff members here," Hardesty said.

What happened last weekend at the rave is generating debate about whether more can be done to keep those who attend safe. Two women died of suspected drug overdoses, and many others required attention from paramedics.

The rave was held on land mostly owned by L.A. County. County supervisors are now considering a temporary ban on raves on county property until an investigation into what happened is complete.

Quite a few rave goers came in with drug-induced seizures, Hardesty said. Some were doped and couldn't answer questions. Several were so combative they had to be under constant care and under heavy sedation.

Rave goers with high temperatures "get so agitated and confused that they can't be controlled," said Dr. Kenneth Nakamoto, an emergency room physician at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. "And we ended up having to admit several to the intensive care unit."

The dramatic scene in the emergency room, however, was not a surprise.

Officials spent months planning for the massive event, which brought in about 122,000 people over two days. Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center increased staffing. Beverly Hills-based Live Nation Entertainment said it set up two primary medical tents at the Fairplex, and paid for three emergency room doctors, 13 registered nurses, 63 emergency medical technicians, and even deployed drug-sniffing dogs.

Despite those efforts, 49 people were transported by ambulance to seven emergency rooms across the region, according to the county and Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. One was transported as far away as Pasadena, a 28-mile drive away, authorities said. Live Nation disputed the number, saying only 37 were transported.

Live Nation Entertainment, one of the world's largest concert and ticketing conglomerates that recorded $4.7 billion in concert revenue in 2014, said in a statement that it is "fully cooperating" with the county Board of Supervisors request for an investigation.

"The festival plan was designed with direct input and approval from all of the relevant county and government agencies as well as the fairground's management," the statement said.

The number of ambulance patients represents an "unusually high number of transports," said Richard Tadeo, assistant director for the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Authority. "I think a lot of people were able to bring in drugs."

Hardest hit was Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, which saw 28 patients in its 50-bed emergency room, according to Laurie Sepke, a registered nurse and the hospital's liaison with the fire department.

"You have heat, you have lots of energy drinks, alcohol, drugs that induce euphoria but also increase temperature and heart rate and blood pressure," Sepke said.

"When you have the alcohol, and the drugs, and the energy all coming together it really creates a very dangerous situation," said Nakamoto, the Pomona Valley emergency room physician.

Two young women died on the rave's first day from apparent overdoses. UCLA student Tracy Nguyen, 18, suffered a seizure of unknown length when paramedics responded at 4:45 p.m. She became pulseless as she was rushed to San Dimas Community Hospital, where she was declared dead, the coroner said.

About 7 p.m., Cal State Channel Islands student Katie Dix, 19, went into respiratory and cardiac distress after witnesses saw her drinking alcohol and taking a drug orally. Doctors tried to resuscitate her for half an hour at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center before she was declared dead, the coroner said. Autopsy results are pending in both cases.

ALSO:

Northern California cop placed on leave after pulling gun on man recording him

Dig for remains of missing person continues on La Puente property

Boy, 9, struck and killed by vehicles while walking with sister in Orange

Updated

Updated at 2:12 p.m. Headline tweaked.

Copyright 2015 - Los Angeles Times