An undetermined foreign substance sickened inmates, then staff, at the Graham Correctional Center in Hillsboro, Illinois, Wednesday. Eighteen prison employees were hospitalized.
After the 911 call went out at around 2:38 p.m. local time, nearby Hillsboro Area Hospital received eight patients from the facility, while HSHS St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield, Illinois, took in nine patients, according to KTVI-TV, a St. Louis Fox affiliate.
“All staff members who may have potentially encountered the unknown substance were also sent to a local hospital as a precaution. All staff are stable currently and many have already been discharged,” Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Naomi Puzzello told the Associated Press.
An undisclosed number of the 1,328 inmates at the medium security adult male prison were treated in the facility’s health care unit.
Prison officers and staff responding to affected inmates, described as being under the influence of the undetermined substance, quickly became sick themselves.
“Those who were in proximity to the inmates were immediately overcome with a variety of symptoms: lightheadedness, dizziness, vomiting or feeling nauseous,” Anders Lindall, director of public affairs for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, told the AP.
While the substance wasn’t identified, the health department in neighboring Fayette County, Illinois, posted on Facebook that numerous county agencies stepped up by sending the opioid overdose mitigation drug Narcan to the prison.
“When a neighboring county asks, you step up. … We were able to provide Graham Correctional Center with 100+ doses of Narcan,” the Fayette County Health Department wrote.
The prison staff’s union is now calling for more screenings of incoming items.
“The issue of exposure to harmful substances in prisons is increasing. AFSCME has been sounding the alarm for months to tighten up the protocol for both incoming mail and visitor screening,” Mr. Lindall elaborated to the AP.
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