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WECHU warns of high number of opioid overdoses

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Windsor, Ont. -

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s surveillance and monitoring system has issued an alert after an increase in opioid-related emergency department visits and EMS calls.

Between Sept. 8 and Sept. 14, there were 10 opioid overdoses combined at Erie Shores Healthcare and Windsor Regional Hospital, according to the Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy (WECOSS).

Nine of these overdoses involved fentanyl and one involved heroin. During this same time period, there were also two non-overdose opioid-related ED visits flagged by the system, both of which involved fentanyl.

Additionally, between Sept. 12 and Sept. 14, a total of eight EMS Overdose Notification were received.

Historically, WECOSS said this is higher than what they had observed during their two and five year averages for Week 37 of the calendar year, with these indicators exceeding our expected thresholds for an alert.

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.

 

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