New grad Josee Duewel writes a letter to Sioux Lookout Bulletin (April 23) about protecting the environment and residents from the dangers of littered needles.   

Sioux Lookout needs a safe consumption site

To the residents of Sioux Lookout: With spring right around the corner, something that is on the forefront of all of our minds is the number of littered needles that will be emerging in our parks, streets and walkways. This is an issue that citizens of Sioux Lookout have been dealing with since the rise of opioid addictions in our region. There are several harm reduction programs aimed towards those individuals who inject drugs, such as the needle exchange program. In 2018, the Northwestern Health Unit provided 120,339 clean needles to individuals in Sioux Lookout, which is 20,000 more than the previous year, and 133 naloxone kits. They have also provided needle disposal kits in high traffic areas to encourage the appropriate disposal of those needles. Residents may also call upon the health unit to dispose of needles if they are found in public areas. Despite these efforts, there are still an abundance of needles being found on the streets. How can Sioux Lookout effectively deal with this issue that is posing a danger to our environment and the health of our residents? 

One suggestion is to create a safe consumption site, where individuals can use drugs in a manner that is safe, supervised, and out of public places. Although this suggestion seems to be unorthodox, we cannot ignore the fact that people are using drugs in our community. We could argue that there needs to be more intervention to stop the drug use, and I agree, there should be, however there are always going to be individuals who will use drugs, and this needs to be addressed. There are several sites across the country that have already implemented this harm reduction strategy with a high level of success. In areas where there are safe consumption sites, there has been a reported decrease in overdose deaths, injection related disease transmission, and needle litter. Collaboration from our local health unit, government, and police services is essential as there are several factors that need to be addressed and considered in order to move forward with an application for a safe consumption site, such as a description of local conditions, local policies and procedures, personnel required at each step, consultation reports, a financial plan, and an application to amend the law because using drugs is an illegal act. 

The need for a safe consumption site is clearly evident when we look at the statistics related to those individuals who consume drugs. In 2000, it was reported that 269 people utilized the Out of the Cold Shelter on a regular basis, and of this homeless population, 100 per cent of the people polled reported using alcohol or drugs in the last year. Since drugs are not allowed at the Out of the Cold Shelter, it can then be assumed that this homeless population was left to use drugs and discard their needles in public areas.

My hope in writing this letter is so that our government and social services in town will consider researching a site that will protect both our residents and environment, as well as offer some solution for the safety of those individuals who use drugs on our streets. Addiction is a complex concept that professionals are constantly striving to understand, however if we work together as a community alongside our social service organizations and local government, we can continue to create a plan to help combat this epidemic. 
 

Health officials are concerned children may be at risk if they consume cannabis-infused edibles, including homemade pot cookies and cannabis-infused gummies. According to Durham Region public health nurse Nadine Ladouceur, ingesting cannabis-infused edibles can result in anxiety, paranoia and hallucinations. Symptoms can intensify and become dangerous if too much is consumed, especially by children. “You can have nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, and can even stop breathing if you consume too much,” she says, adding: “It depends on your metabolism and body weight.” The side effects from edibles can emerge 30 minutes to two hours after consumption. Once the edibles kick in, she says, the effects can last up to 12 hours. Edibles are to be legalized in Canada in late-2019. (DurhamRegion.com, April 15) 

David McNeil, RNAO past-president and president of the Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS), is leading a new committee he hopes will create 
a revitalized vision for the organization. “Our goal is to co-create a strategic plan with the community,” says McNeil. This work “…will guide us towards 2025 to ensure we are meeting the needs of a diverse community, staff, physicians and volunteers,” he adds. Participants include Brantford’s mayor, nursing students, professors from McMaster University, and staff at BCHS, including its chief nurse executive Wendy Pomponio. The committee first met in May and will continue to meet throughout the year. The goal is to announce a plan in February or March of 2020. A website (ourbchs.ca) provides information about community meetings and allows the public to provide input. (Brantford Expositor, May 8) 
 

A new hospice will soon be coming to Smiths Falls Rideau Community Health Services. The facility will be the first of its kind between Kingston and Ottawa. “I think the community would benefit from it,” says CEO Michele Bellows. “It gives patients and families another option for end-of-life. Right now, your options are hospital, travel to a hospice, or die at home.” Bellows says the area has already been approved for four hospice beds. However, she would like to see the number of beds increase. More than six, or as many as 10 would be ideal. Currently, there are no hospice beds in Perth, Merrickville or the Smiths Falls corridor. And although Perth & Smiths Falls District Hospital offers palliative care, Bellows says it is not the same as a hospice. (Smiths Falls Record News, May 27)
 

A report, released on June 12 by the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, is being celebrated for its call to implement a universal, single-payer, national pharmacare plan. “(RNAO has) been pushing for this for a long time,” says RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun. “You cannot have healthy people if they don’t have universal access to medications.” In 2018, Canadians spent $34 billion on prescription medication through a patchwork of provincial and private drug plans. The report warns that by 2027, in the absence of a pharmacare plan, those costs could rise to $55.8 billion. “It costs us a lot more not to have (a plan). Both from a financial perspective and access to health care perspective, this is essential, necessary and urgent,” says Grinspun. Former Ontario health minister Eric Hoskins, who headed up the advisory council, predicts Canadians could save roughly $5 billion a year once the recommended plan is fully implemented by 2027. He is calling for a phase-in, with essential drugs covered by 2022, and additional medications added by 2027. (The Craig Needles Show, Global News Radio, June 13) 
 

To better understand what it means to practise in rural communities, medical students from Western University spent four days working alongside health-care professionals in Leamington in May. Yvonne Bauer, a staff nurse at Erie Shores Hospital, says the experience is important because health care is different in rural areas. “In the city, for an MRI, you have to go down two floors. In rural settings, you have to go 45 minutes for an MRI,” she says. During the visit, students shadowed Bauer and other health-care providers to learn about the nuances of rural care, such as the close bond between patients and practitioners. The experience was part of a placement called the 21st Discovery Week, which takes place at the end of the first year for all undergraduate students in Western’s school of medicine and dentistry. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, six million Canadians live in rural and remote communities, making up almost 20 per cent of the population. (Kingsville Reporter, May 28) 
 

Sault Area Hospital is improving care for seniors through an Ontario Senior Friendly Hospital Strategy. “You can have a 65-year-old who is athletic and living a great life, and a 65-year-old who has a lot of morbidities and is fairly handicapped in their life,” says Liz Ferguson, the hospital’s VP of clinical operations and chief nursing officer. Using the strategy – which launched in 2011 to improve the experiences and outcomes of hospitalized seniors by preventing physical and mental decline – the hospital is creating a geriatric rehab unit and increasing staff education on falls. As a result, the number of falls is decreasing, and falls not previously detected are now being spotted. “We know seniors fall,” Ferguson says. “Our goal is to make sure they fall safely.” (Sault Star, April 25)