RaCERS Director Participates in Opioid Summit in Surrey, BC

The City of Surrey convened a meeting entitled “City of Surrey Opioid Summit: Data to Action” on June 1-5, 2019 in Surrey, BC City Hall.  The effort, which was led by the Surrey Fire Service, brought together numerous agencies and service providers to develop data-based solutions to addressing the crisis. The summit features presentations and discussion form Statistics Canada, BC Office of Coroner, Fraser Health,  Surrey RCMP,

With the latest release of data from Statistics Canada was a springboard for the Summit, intended to be the first step in a plan to take action from the data insights to prevent overdoses and overdose fatalities. Potential solutions for the opioid crisis will be presented to government decision-makers in the coming months following the ground-breaking held last week in Surrey.

The summit included presentations and discussion among academics, experts and service providers from government, public safety, health care, injury prevention and other fields, including Judy Darcy, B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions; Mark Griffioen, Surrey Deputy Fire Chief of Community Risk Reduction; Dr. Paul Maxim, Professor Emeritus from Western University; Lynn Barr-Telford, Incoming Assistant Chief Statistician and Dr. Anthony Matarazzo, Assistant Director, from Statistics Canada; Dr. Penny Ballem, Vancouver Coastal Health Board Chair; Dr. Louis Francescutti, former president of the Canadian Medical Association and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; Dr. Charles Jennings of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York; Dr. Martha Dow of the University of the Fraser Valley; Dr. Ian Pike, Director of the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit; Dr. Lindsey Richardson of the BC Center on Substance Use; and several clinicians and a peer support worker with lived experience from Fraser Health.

“The Summit showcased the possibilities of linking spatial and personal data from diverse sources to better identify descriptors of the opioid overdose problem, as well as develop early warnings and indicators of potential problems,” said Charles Jennings of John Jay College.

A full release of the Summit is available from the City of Surrey here. A report form the two-day event will be forthcoming.

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