OPIOID POISONING COMMITEE

About Us

Committee Members

The Committee members are all physician members of the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association.

Co-Chairs:
Dr. Ginetta Salvalaggio is a Family Physician and Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta.
Dr. Cheryl Mack is the Vice-President of the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association, Chair of Clinical Ethics at Stollery Children’s Hospital, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, WCM Health Sciences Centre, and Edmonton Kaye Clinic, an Adjunct Professor at the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre, and a Pediatric Physician and Anesthesiologist at the University of Alberta.

Members:
The Committee brings together nine urban, rural, and Indigenous physician representatives across several medical disciplines with first-hand knowledge of this public health emergency--public health, intensive care, emergency medicine, family medicine, addiction medicine, pediatrics, and infectious diseases--to provide the comprehensive expertise needed to respond to this crisis.

Mandate

The Committee will fulfil the following responsibilities for an opioid crisis response on behalf of the Edmonton zone medical community:
1.  Advocate for access to evidence-informed services for people who use drugs.
2. Recommend short- and long-term strategies to the public and government designed to reduce the number of opioid poisoning deaths in Alberta.
3. Be a trusted source of medical advice on a public health approach to substance use.
4. Raise public awareness of the impact of opioid poisoning on patients and the health system

Purpose
The number of Albertans dying of overdose is increasing year over year. An average of FOUR Albertans are dying every day from overdose in 2021. Incomprehensibly, existing harm reduction services are being cut. There is no question that addiction treatment options should be available to anyone who requests them, but they are not a replacement for immediate life-saving measures, which should also be available to anyone, anytime, and without caveats. As the situation in Alberta becomes graver, there is need for physician leadership, which is not influenced by politics or stigma. The Committee will advocate for evidence-based public information, government policy and health system services that support our community’s health and well-being to reduce the number of adverse outcomes for people who use drugs.     

Updated: September 9, 2021