By Doug Draper
A friend to the left and Reilly in pink along the shores of Lake Erie
The mother of Reilly Anzovino – the Fort Erie teen who died following an ambulance trip from a traffic accident scene in her hometown to a hospital emergency room in Welland – hopes that an inquest into the circumstances around her death will lead to better health care for all Niagara residents.
Reilly’s mother, Denise Kennedy, was responding to news this March 2 that Ontario’s chief coroner, Dr. Andrew McCallum, will hold an inquest into the 18-year old’s death in the early morning minutes of this past December 27, following a traffic accident on Hwy. 3 before midnight on Boxing Day.
“Although nothing will bring Reilly back,” Denise told Niagara At Large on behalf of herself, Reilly’s father, Tim Anzovino, and other members of the family, “we hope that this inquest will bring recommendations and changes to the health care of our community. …. “I think it is important to have recommendations that are unbiased and made by a competent expert,” she added.
Denise said the one thing that bothered her about the news that an inquest will be conducted is that her family found out about it through text messages sent through the internet by Reilly’s friends rather than through the coroner’s office. “I would have expected to be one of the first to know,” she said.
Sue Salzer, head of a south Niagara citizens group called the Yellow Shirt Brigade which has been fighting for full hospital services in the region’s southern tier, said she was pleased by the news and hopes an inquest will fully address residents’ concerns about the decision made last year by the Niagara Health System (the bureaucratic body created by the province to manage most of the hospitals in the region) to close emergency rooms at hospitals in Port Colborne and Fort Erie.
“Now that an inquest has been called,” said Salzer, “we believe there are serious questions that the community needs answered. If the Niagara Health System had not closed the emergency department at the Douglas Memorial Hospital (in Fort Erie), would Reilly have lived is the most important issue.”
“Perhaps this inquest will assist in re-establishing emergency services (in the region’s southern tier), another legacy for Reilly,” Salzer said.
In a media release following the coroner’s announcement of an inquest, Tim Hudak, the province’s Conservative Party leader, MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook and a native of Fort Erie, said; “I am pleased to hear that there will finally be a full inquest into the tragic death of Reilly Anzovino. I hope that through this inquest, Reilly’s family receives the answers they need and the closer they deserve. …. “I promised the Anzovino family that I would use all of the tools available to my office to obtain answers about the circumstances that led to Reilly’s passing. … the Anzovinos and all Fort Erie families deserve to know whether Reilly’s life could have been saved had the emergency room at Douglas Memorial Hospital remained open.”
Ontario’s NDP leader, Andrea Horwath, added in a separate statement “community members (in Niagara’s southern tier) have long raised red flags about the closure of the Fort Erie and Port Colborne emergency rooms. “We know that Reilly had to travel almost double the distance to the Welland hospital than she would have if the two local ERs had still been functioning. ….
“Reilly’s family and the entire community deserve answers as to whether the closers played a role in this tragedy,” Horwath added. “We’re hopeful that the inquest will provide those answers and help ensure that no other family has to go through what the Anzovino family has gone through.”
Liberal MPP Kim Craitor, whose Niagara Falls riding encompasses Fort Erie, was among the first this year to call for an inquest. But his reaction to the coroner’s announcement were not available at the time of this posting.
(Please click on http://www.niagaraatlarge.com for related news and commentary from Niagara At Large on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater binational region.)
For your information, Niagara At Large is reprising a letter Reilly’s parents sent to the Ontario coroner this past January asking for an inquest. Following the letter, please share your comments on this matter by filling out the available comment boxes.
January 11, 2010
Dear Dr. McCallum
Re: Request for a Public Inquest into the Death of Reilly Anzovino. December 27th, 2009, Fort Erie. ON.
We, the parents of Reilly Anzovino, are writing to ask you to exercise your authority in conducting an inquest into the death of our daughter.
We fully support the request made by Mr. Kim Craitor, MPP in his letter of January 4, 2010. We have many questions relating to the death of our daughter.
Our primary concern is whether time played a factor in her death. We understand that on December 26th, 2009, it took 30 minutes to transport her from the accident site to the Welland hospital site and that she died shortly before arrival.
While we understand that aggressive resuscitation was performed, we wonder if time was a factor in obtaining the blood transfusions needed to stabilize her condition while she was still alive. We have questions regarding comments made that the ambulance ran out of oxygen which would have been critical given the nature of her injuries and resulting blood loss.
The issue that arises that is of concern to us as her parents and of interest to the public is the need to determine whether the closer of the Douglas Memorial site and the Port Colborne site played a role in Reilly’s death given the extra time it took to transport her to Welland.
Our hearts ache with the “what ifs.” What if Reilly could have been transported to Fort Erie or Port Colborne where she could have received the blood transfusions she needed while she was still alive? What if she could have been stabilized enough to airlift her to a trauma center like ECMC or Hamilton General? Could she still be alive today?
While we know that nothing will bring our daughter back, we need to know the answers to these questions. It is hard to find any peace without them.
We remain concerned for other residents in our community (including many other family members) whose health and well-being may similarly be affected. Thank you for your consideration of our request.
Sincerely, Tim Anzovino and Denise Kennedy.
Niagara At Large 