Ontario’s coroner has launched an inquest into the death of a young Indigenous woman who died in a Niagara Region emergency waiting room almost two and half years ago. Heather Winterstein collapsed on December 10, 2021 at St. Catharines Hospital, a day after going into the same emergency department seeking treatment for severe back pain.
Her mother, Francine Shimizu, told St. Catharines city councillors last June that Winterstein was sent home with painkillers and a sandwich on Dec. 9, only to return with similar pain the next day.
An initial investigation revealed the cause of 24-year-old Winterstein’s death from Necrotizing Fasciitis, a type of infection that is preventable if treated properly. The latest health and medical news emailed to you every Sunday. However, Shimizu said she had been waiting almost a year and a half to learn the circumstances around Heather’s death from Niagara Region, the province’s Ministry of Health and Ontario Coroner’s Office.
Story continues below advertisement “I want to grieve for my daughter, who was so beautiful and special to me, but I cannot without the conclusive answers that most cases receive,” Shimizu told the council. “I do not understand why it is taking so long for the conclusions of the investigations and the reports outlining what happened to my daughter.” The Ministry did reveal it was investigating the matter but had not yet shared any information with the family or the Chief Coroner for Ontario.
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