Timiskaming Health Unit unveils opioid dashboard
The Timiskaming Health Unit is rolling out an opioid surveillance dashboard to help inform the community about the opioid situation in the district.
It’s a way to share with the public the harmful substances that are in the area. The opioid surveillance dashboard is a part of the local health unit’s opioid response plan.
“It provides a broader picture of the opioid situation in the district,” said Kim Parker, of the Timiskaming Health Unit.
“Anyone can access that data -- community members, community partners, different agencies. It’s available to inform and update everyone on the current situation.”
Parker said harmful substances are circulating in the community and people must be made aware.
“It’s difficult to identify trends in our area because of our small situation but we are certainly not immune to the problem,” she said.
“Rates of opioid use and opioid deaths are rising across the province and the country and certainly the same case in our area.”
The information on the dashboard is gathered from provincial sources, local emergency services, partner agencies and tips from the community.
BIG PICTURE
“All of that informs us with a big picture of what’s going on,” Parker said.
“We want the message to get out, but we also want the information to be available to those who use drugs, so they can make an informed decision and take precaution when needed and reduce their risk of overdose and poisonings.”
Parker said the health unit’s drug and alcohol strategy team is also working on ways on reducing harmful drugs and substances that are in the community.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
No sign Canada has a plan to reach NATO defence spending target: U.S. NATO ambassador
The U.S. ambassador to NATO says she has seen no indication that Canada has a plan to reach the NATO spending target of two per cent of GDP on defence.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
More seniors are using homeless shelters. Here's why, according to experts
One of the country’s homeless shelters has seen an uptick in the number of people through its doors, including more older adults over 50.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Man or machine? Toronto company finds a way to determine how real audio clips are
The Toronto-based research arm of life sciences technology firm Klick Health has found a way to analyze voices in a manner that’s so granular, it can tell whether it's a person or an artificial intelligence-powered machine.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Apollo Hess, Indigenous swimmer, to take on 2024 Summer Olympics
Getting the call that changes your life can feel like time stops in its track. For one small-town Alberta man, a dream he has been training for since he was a child is coming true and it will take him and his team overseas.