PROVIDENCE – Sixty-one people throughout Rhode Island were treated for nonfatal overdoses in Ocean State emergency departments in early May, prompting the R.I. Department of Health to issue a statewide overdose spike alert.
Earlier in the year, the health department released another statewide alert for the week of March 10-16, reporting 55 nonfatal overdoses throughout Rhode Island. The statewide threshold for an alert is 55 nonfatal overdoses in one week.
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Prior to March, the health department had not declared a statewide overdose spike since 2023. The department recently rolled out a new tracking system that expands the number of substances tracked, which the health department has said will likely lead to more alerts.
Spike alerts can now include overdoses caused by opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines and other substances. Under the old system, the state only tracked opioid-related overdoses.
But nonfatal overdoses are on the rise since the new system rolled out. In 2026, Rhode Island has so far averaged 46 nonfatal overdoses per week, according to health department data, up from 41 in March.
“Increases in overdoses can happen because the drug supply is always changing,” the health department said in the recent alert.
Highly potent substances such as fentanyl, an opioid that can cause overdoses even in trace amounts, can be present in all types of drugs, the department warns.
Numerous resources on overdose prevention, treatment and recovery are available on the state’s preventoverdoseri.org website.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
