Starting with the Q3 2019 report, the Grande Prairie Community Opioid Response Task Force is now making quarterly reports publicly available on their response efforts to the local opioid crisis.  

The reports are designed to serve as a resource for the many community partners involved in the task force, to educate the community, and to enhance transparency and accountability around the efforts of the task force.

The reports are a result of the collaboration of all the participating agencies and are intended to include locally relevant and meaningful data to represent and support the work being completed to combat the crisis, while providing the community a snapshot of the current situation.

“Being able to produce and publish these quarterly reports is a major milestone for the Community Opioid Response Task Force,” says Mayor Bill Given.

“It has always been a goal of the group to share these reports publicly, so we are excited to make this information available for the first time to our partners and our community. Things we can measure are the things we can address, so being able to collaborate with all of our partners to produce this local data is pivotal for advancing our local strategy.”

All reports will be available on a routine basis at everyoneisimpacted.com.

Highlights from Q3 2019

• The 2019 rate of fentanyl poisoning deaths (per 100,000 people) in Grande Prairie is 34 as of Q3
  • In total, there were 19 fentanyl related deaths in Grande Prairie as of Q3 in 2019
• Grande Prairie saw 2646 visits by 119 individuals to supervised consumption services in Q3, a 30% increase in visits to supervised consumption services compared to Q2 2019
  • 0 fatalities
  • 37 overdoses responded to, a decrease from 42 overdoses in Q2
  • 252 naloxone kits distributed through the supervised consumption site
  • 37 EMS calls prevented
• ACT Medical had 55 new starts and 75 restarts of methadone treatment, an opioid substitution therapy, in Q3
• 42 educational workshops on cultural awareness and overdose prevention hosted in Q3

To view the full report and stay up-to-date on future reports, visit everyoneisimpacted.com.

Background

The Community Opioid Response Task Force was launched in December 2017 by Mayor Bill Given in response to the opioid crisis in Grande Prairie. The purpose of the Task Force is to coordinate community efforts in responding to the opioid crisis to develop a response based on local need and resources.

The Task Force is composed of the City of Grande Prairie, Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce, school district representatives, health care representatives, RCMP, social services organizations, community members, and individuals with lived-experience in the community, and several municipal government departments.

For more information on supports and services available for those impacted by the opioid crisis, visit everyoneisimpacted.com.