High Number of Opioid-Related Emergency Department Visits and Overdoses

Date/Time/Approximate Location

Thursday, September 15th, 2022

Windsor & Essex County – Windsor Regional Hospital

Event Description

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s Opioid and Substance Use Notification System has identified an elevated number of opioid-related Emergency Department (ED) visits and overdoses inclusively between September 5th and September 11th of 2022.

Over this seven-day consecutive period, there were a total of twelve (12) opioid overdoses reported by Windsor Regional Hospital, nine (9) of which involved fentanyl. In addition, there were three (3) opioid non-overdoses reported by Windsor Regional Hospital during this same time period, two (2) of which involved fentanyl. These values exceed both our two and five-year historical averages for the current week in question by more than three standard deviations. As such, based on the information available, a public alert is warranted.

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