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MMH: fentanyl data given to Gov. Abbott not entirely accurate

The hospital said that after reviewing data, the claim that MMH sees one patient a day for a fentanyl overdose is "anecdotal in nature."

MIDLAND, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott spoke about the rising effects of the drug fentanyl in the Permian Basin Wednesday, saying that Midland Memorial Hospital sees at least one patient a day from a fentanyl overdose.

Those numbers are indeed alarming, but when NewsWest 9 checked those numbers with the hospital, we found that they didn't quite add up.

MMH confirmed that data given to Abbott for the statement was not completely accurate and "anecdotal in nature."

MMH did confirm that since April 1, they have seen 41 overdose patients in their Emergency Department. However, they don't know if the overdoses were caused by fentanyl alone.

We're told that's because opiate screenings can show fentanyl and other illegal drugs.

It is important to note, these statistics only represent the Midland Memorial Hospital Emergency Room and not other locations.

To see the full statement from MMH, read below:

"We appreciate your inquiry. Our team looked further into the comment made regarding Midland Memorial Hospital seeing a patient a day from a fentanyl overdose. After review, the data provided to Governor Abbott was not completely accurate and anecdotal in nature. We can confirm that since April 1, MMH has had 41 overdoses present to the Emergency Department. We do not know if these overdoses were caused by fentanyl because the screening for opiates can show fentanyl in addition to other illicit drugs. It is important to note that this number is only reflective of the overdoses that presented to the MMH ER, not other established community organizations that handle these cases regularly."

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