Date/Time/Approximate Location |
June 23rd, 2021 Primarily concentrated in the N9A postal code |
Event Description |
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s surveillance and monitoring system has identified an increase in substance use-related Emergency Department (ED) visits and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls inclusively between June 14th and June 20th of 2021. Over this consecutive seven-day period, there were 30 substance use-related ED visits flagged by the system, and a total of 19 EMS Overdose Notifications were received. These numbers do not meet our standard thresholds for an alert; however, this alert is being issued because there has been a significant increase in the number of fentanyl-related ED visits during this time period, including seven (7) fentanyl overdoses and twelve (12) non-overdoses. Partners involved in the WECOSS, including the WECHU, Windsor Regional Hospital, Essex Windsor-EMS, Erie Shores Healthcare, and Police Services, continue to monitor this increase and are working to understand more about these reported cases. |
Response |
Please share this information with clients and relevant partners. If you are aware of any linkages between these cases or other causes for these increases, please contact the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. For signs & symptoms of opioid overdose and what to do, visit the WECOSS website: How Can Overdose Be Prevented? |
Source |
WECHU (Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance Application - ACES), Essex-Windsor EMS Overdose Notification System, Windsor Police Services |
High Number of Opioid Overdoses – July 3rd, 2021
Windsor-Essex County