Two Goshen High School students hospitalized after ingesting unknown substance
Goshen. Afternoon buses were held for about 30 minutes on April 7 to allow ambulances to transport two students to the emergency room after taking an unknown substance. Both students are now stable and with their families.
| 07 Apr 2022 | 05:25
Two Goshen High School students were taken to Garnet Health’s emergency room via ambulance today after “exhibiting clinical symptoms that were very concerning to our nurse,” said Goshen Central School District superintendent Kurtis Kotes.
Symptoms included pale skin, elevated heart rate (over 100 bpm), slurred speech, unsteady gait, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.
“We are still working to ascertain what they took or what they ingested,” added Kotes.
The alleged substances taken varied from student to student. Village of Goshen police are working with the school to investigate what the students consumed.
The incident is the first of its kind to happen during school hours in the Goshen School District this year -- but follows a slew of 15 teen overdoses in Orange County since March, at least four of which occurred at Pine Bush, Monroe, Warwick and Newburgh schools.
“It is important that our families are aware of the dangers of these highly potent substances that are circulating in our schools. It is also important to know that this issue is not isolated to Goshen, nor is it isolated to any ‘type’ of student,” Kotes said in an email to district parents. “It is a widespread epidemic that is hurting our children and our families, and it knows no bounds.”
The district is working with local agencies to find resources to address the issue of teen substance abuse, Kotes noted in his letter to parents. “Substance abuse among teens has been noticeably exacerbated by the pandemic,” he said, “and we must work together to protect our children.”
