Dr. Deirdre Cronin, an emergency department physician at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, deserves high praise for alerting the community about what she called “an unprecedented number” of heroin overdoses.

“There is some heroin out there that that is much stronger or more potent or it’s mixed with another drug,” she told Day Staff Writer Judy Benson Thursday, a day when one person died and another eight were treated at the hospital for overdose.

Dr. Cronin said she also contacted the Connecticut Poison Control Center, at the same time police were trying to locate the source of the drug.

There is evidence that Dr. Cronin’s warning, posted online on The Day’s website Thursday night and published in Friday’s paper, has been disseminated widely. Though it is impossible to say how many heroin users may have heeded her warning we believe her actions helped save lives.

Dr. Cronin recognized that a doctor’s responsibilities extend beyond simply treating patients. She also has a duty to help protect the community served by her hospital.

At the same time, in the face of growing heroin use, law enforcement, social service and municipal authorities must redouble their efforts to combat drug abuse. It is a serious problem in the region, state and rest of the country.

The medical community must also follow Dr. Cronin’s lead and remain vigilantly active in the fight.