‘Chirping’ electronic EpiPen results in evacuation of CMC emergency room

The chirping battery of an electronic EpiPen that had been thrown away in a tinted container aroused suspicions at Charlotte’s biggest hospital – prompting officials to tape off and evacuate parts of the emergency room for about two hours Friday morning, officials said.

Shortly after 8 a.m., police and firefighters responded to Carolinas Medical Center after receiving reports of a “suspicious package” found in the emergency department, said hospital spokesman Kevin McCarthy.

He said some parts of the emergency room were evacuated, but he was unsure how many people were escorted out. There were other parts of the emergency department that were deemed safe and fully operational while emergency crews and media swarmed the hospital.

As emergency responders probed the package, MEDIC diverted all its units away from the hospital “out of an abundance of caution” and transported patients to other area hospitals, a spokesman said.

By 10:15 a.m., emergency officials started packing up and rolled away the caution tape after determining the EpiPen’s “chirping battery” was the culprit, McCarthy said.

The EpiPen sounded off because its battery was dying, he said. The needle had been thrown away in a “sharps box,” one of several containers hospital staff use to dispose of used medical needles.

“It’s tinted so you can’t see inside,” McCarthy said. “That’s why when they heard the chirping sound, they were unable to tell what it was.”

It’s unclear if a patient or employee alerted officials to the noise. Normal hospital operations resumed Friday.

This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 10:28 AM with the headline "‘Chirping’ electronic EpiPen results in evacuation of CMC emergency room."