By Doug Draper
Some breaking news here this March 2.
Reilly Anzovino
Dr. Andrew McCallum, Ontario’s chief coroner, has announced that he will hold a public inquest into the death of Reilly Anzovino, a Fort Erie teen who died from injuries in a car accident in her home town when she was ambulanced to emergency services at a hospital in Welland.
Many south Niagara residents and politicians, including Niagara Falls Liberal MPP Kim Craitor, Welland NDP MPP Peter Kormos and Niagara area MPP and Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak, called on the chief coroner to hold an inquest following Reilly’s death. All, including Reilly’s parents in their own letter to the coroner, wonder if Reilly might still be alive today if the emergency rooms at the Fort Erie and Port Colborne hospitals had not been closed by the Niagara Health System and Local Integrated Health Network as cost cutting measures last year.
Read on for the text of the chief coroner’s announcement, and Niagara At Large will provide more news and commentary on this development as information comes in.
A Media Release from Ontario’s Chief Coroner’s Office –
“Dr. Andrew McCallum, Chief Coroner for Ontario, today announced that an inquest will be held into the death of Reilly Anzovino. Ms. Anzovino, 18, died on December 27, 2009, from injuries she sustained as the result of an automobile accident in the Niagara region.
The scope and focus of the inquest will be determined by the presiding coroner following the completion of the investigation into the circumstances of her death.
The jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths. Details regarding the date, location and presiding coroner have not yet been determined.”
(Click on www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news of commentary on this and other matters of interest and concern to residents in our binational Niagara region.)
Niagara At Large 
Finally the people are heard. What a relief that we can get to the bottom of Reilly’s death. Maybe this will help her family and many friends to begin to heal the massive wound they have in their hearts. Let’s hope the inquest begins shortly.
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An inquest called in just two months seems very unusual but we are grateful to the Chief Coroner. His response to the community and the many political demands for answers to our loss of Reilly is appreciated. So many questions remain.
Was the closing of our ER a mitigating factor…how long did it take the ambulance to reach the accident scene,,,did paramedics request of dispatch to take her to ECMC,,, where were the Regions sanders that night,,,why were the NHS and the Ministry of Health so concerned that they launched their own investigation into the circumstances of her death,,,did they find information that prompted them to realize an Inquest was necessary.
Will the Inquest results tell Dalton McGuinty to never close another communities Emergency Department,
Will this Inquest give Fort Erie back equal and accessible Emergency Care.
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I am glad to hear this. The Chief Coroner should be briefed by the critics of the new hospital plan so it can help him develop a frame of reference for his inquiry, or there will be many more deaths of this type before the government suddenly wakes up and realizes what is happening here.
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This Niagara At Large article quotes the media release from the Ontario Coroner’s office saying, “The scope and focus of the inquest will be determined by the presiding coroner following the completion of the investigation into the circumstances of her death.” This sentence sounds like obfuscating ‘political’ gobbledygook. What comes first and what follows?
A proper inquest first looks at the immediate cause of death as determined by a good pathologist’s autopsy (trauma, bleeding, etc.) and the proximate cause(s) of death as determined by police investigation (MVA in icy winter conditions). Then contributing wider circles of a variety of possible factors must be factored in. These latter ‘social’ circumstances can be epitomized by a few pointed questions: How quickly did the ambulance (and paramedics) arrive at the accident scene? How long did it take to get to a hospital? Was there any delay in getting to emergency MEDICAL treatment at a hospital emergency department? If so, was such due to weather? Was such due to ‘bypassing’ any other closer hospital – ER or not? Was there any recent bureaucratic (NHS) decision or action (such as closing or changing nearby emergency rooms to so-called UCCs) that might have ‘mandated’ delay? If such specific questions are not asked, a proper inquest cannot be considered done.
Once the three levels of ’causes of death’ (immediate medical-pathological, proximate police reports, predetermining social factors) are clarified, then constructive recommendations for the prevention of similar tragedies can be articulated – as a crucial part of the inquest. One possibility to be considered is this: Reopen the ERs at Fort Erie and Port Colborne!
Only in this step by logical step fashion can young Reilly Anzovino’s sad and premature death serve as a focus to spotlight and stop wrongful ‘time-critical’ deaths in the future.
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