A controversial alcoholism help center in Alaska lost one of its patients Sunday from what is believed to be a fatal combination of alcohol and prescription medication. According to the Associated Press, the death has fueled criticism against the Anchorage center, which has already been under fire for allowing chronic street alcoholics to keep drinking.
Employees at the center were first alerted by a visitor that the patient, 54-year-old John Kort, appeared to be drunk. Kort was slurring his speech and having trouble walking, so employees laid him down on his bed and rolled him onto his side. He was checked again 40 minutes later, in which time he had managed to move to the floor and rest his head against the bed. Kort was repositioned.
When an employee checked on Kort for a third time, he was laying face-down on his bed. His hands were cold and he was not breathing, said Anchorage police spokesman Dave Parker. Police and paramedics were unable to revive him. Though the official cause of death has not been determined, police believe alcohol and pills to be a factor in his death.
The death was the first for the controversial Karluk Manor, which opened less than a month ago in Anchorage. The center hoped to serve chronic alcoholics by first providing them with safe housing. They are still allowed to drink in their rooms, for which they pay $50 a month.
