Henry County EMS issues health alert while children are hospitalized after taking prescribed medication

EMINENCE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky mother said her 5-year-old daughter is in the hospital after taking medication and that other parents are in a similar situation.

Henry County EMS posted a message on Facebook over the weekend, warning parents about a prescription for clonidine oral suspension filled at Med Save in Eminence. The post said "DO NOT administer it to your child."

"We have reason to believe that there is something wrong with their shipment. DO NOT USE," said the post, signed by Henry County EMS Deputy Director Lt. Col. TJ Bothur.

An update on the post said: "Investigation has resulted in enough information to be confident that this incident was isolated to prescriptions for Clonidine Oral Suspension that were filled at the MedSave in Eminence. Thank you all for sharing this as widely as you have.

As a reminder for safety, whenever giving your children a new medication, make sure you can monitor them before going to sleep to catch any adverse reactions!"

The post has more than 1,000 shares. No one from the Med Save Pharmacy in Eminence commented for this story.

Tabitha Drew said an ambulance rushed her 5-year-old daughter Rayven Winters from Henry County to Norton Children's Hospital in downtown Louisville on Sunday night.

"My mother told me to call 911, and that's exactly what I did," Drew said.

She said she picked up a prescription for clonidine at Med Save and gave it to her daughter, who soon became unresponsive.

"Within 10 minutes of her having it, she looked at me and said, 'Mommy, I'm very sleepy,' then she rubbed her eyes and passed out," Drew said.

According to the National Institutes for Health website, clonidine is "an antihypertensive drug that lowers blood pressure and heart rate by relaxing the arteries and increasing the blood supply to the heart; it has other FDA-approved indications such as treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children; management of tics commonly found with Tourette syndrome; and adjunct therapy for severing cancer-related pain."

In a written statement Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it's aware of the health advisory in Henry County.

"We recommend contacting the Department and the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy for further information about this incident," the FDA said. "The FDA works with our local, state, and federal partners to protect public health as appropriate.

As of around noon Monday, Drew was still in the hospital with her daughter.

"Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She would not talk to me," Drew said, recalling Sunday night before she called the ambulance. "I kept tapping her leg, you know, 'Please talk to me. Open your eyes. Do anything.' She wouldn't answer me."

At least one other Henry County parent said her son is also in the hospital right now after taking the medicine.

Drew said her daughter has been on a Narcan drip and oxygen. She's not sure how long they'll be at Norton Children's Hospital.

"... if her oxygen levels does not get better, they're talking about intubating her," Drew said. "But they're just playing it by ear right now to see if she gets to breathing back on her own with oxygen and Narcan."

In a statement Monday afternoon, Bothur said: The top priority for our healthcare providers, including the paramedics at Henry County EMS, is patient safety. Over the weekend, Henry County EMS paramedics transported three patients related to prescriptions of an oral suspension of clonidine that were filled at a pharmacy in Eminence. If you have questions regarding this medication, contact your pharmacy."

The Eminence Police Department said it's aware of the reports. Norton Children's said it can't comment on the situation.

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