High Number of Opioid Overdoses – September 22nd, 2021

Windsor-Essex County

Date/Time/Approximate Location

September 22nd, 2021

City of Windsor & Leamington, ON

Event Description

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s surveillance and monitoring system has identified an increase in opioid-related Emergency Department (ED) visits and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls inclusively between September 14th and September 20th of 2021.

Over this consecutive seven-day period, it has been identified that there were 12 fentanyl overdoses, nine (9) of which were reported by Windsor Regional Hospital and three (3) of which were reported by Erie Shores Healthcare. Historically, the number of overdoses reported during this period are significantly high when compared to our 5-year average for Week 37. During this same time period, there were also four (4) non-overdose opioid-related ED visits flagged by the system, three (3) of which involved fentanyl. Based on the information available, a public alert is warranted.

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 and 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