When Francine Shimizu’s 24-year-old daughter Heather Winterstein showed up at the emergency department at St. Catharines General Hospital for a severe backache, Shimizu said Winterstein was sent home on a city bus with Tylenol.
When the pain didn’t get better, the young Indigenous woman was back in the ER the next day, allegedly waiting hours for care, only to collapse in the waiting room and die.
Months after her death, her family is calling for a coroner’s inquest looking into why stories like hers are so common.
Shimizu told CityNews in an interview Winterstein felt she was dismissed after her initial visit to the hospital on Dec. 9.
“She said that to her dad, that they didn’t do anything and she felt dismissed,” Shimizu said.
On Dec. 10, her father called for an ambulance. Winterstein was once again dropped off at the emergency department, where she was triaged, put in a wheelchair, and left in the waiting room unattended, according to witnesses who spoke to Shimizu.
“She ended up losing consciousness and she fell out of her wheelchair onto the floor, and she never regained consciousness,” said Shimizu, adding she was called to the hospital five hours after Heather passed out.
Shimizu watched her daughter die in the ICU.
“They were doing CPR, and all I could do was hold her hand,” she said through tears.
Winterstein’s family believes her pain was ignored because of her Indigenous heritage and drug use. Shimizu, who is a registered nurse, was told by the local public health unit that Winterstein had a strep A infection and staphylococcus aureus.
“Both are very treatable,” Shimizu said.
The hospital network, Niagara Heath, has since conducted an internal review into Winterstein’s patient experience. The results will not be made public, and CityNews has not seen the report. Niagara Heath did not confirm the cause of death to CityNews, but said it is now “looking at how our Emergency Department functions … and the ways we identify and support members of equity-deserving groups.”
Niagara Health added there is now a dedicated social worker in the emergency department, and they are also piloting a technician role in the department who will observe and reassess patients in the waiting room and support those who arrive by ambulance.
The Six Nations of the Grand River where Shimizu is from, is supporting calls for a coroner’s inquest saying Winterstein’s case highlights why “many Indigenous people harbor mistrust towards the healthcare system.”
“There’s very, very little faith from Indigenous people in terms of the health system properly addressing their health concerns,” Joe Hester, the executive director of Anishnawbe Health Toronto, told CityNews. He said there is a need to acknowledge systemic anti-Indigenous bias exists. “The institution has to invest a lot of time and effort to be able to weed out this kind of racism.”
“I think there’s a lot to learn why a young woman is basically ignored in the emergency department then finally dies,” said Dr. Anna Banerji, the director of global and Indigenous health at the University of Toronto.
Banerji’s 14-year-old adopted Inuit son, Nathan, also died in a system she said fails Indigenous people across Canada every day.
“When he was deteriorating, I went to the largest mental health hospital in Canada and begged for help and I was just completely dismissed,” Banerji said. “I’m a physician and pediatrician and I was completely and absolutely dismissed. My son was dead 12 days later.”
Shimizu, who set up a GoFundMe to help with legal costs, said the family was asked to take part in the hospital’s review and has seen the findings. They were not shared with CityNews. Shimizu said she feels Niagara Health is taking responsibility but stressed it should be entrenched in law that marginalized communities and those struggling with addiction can access care without judgement.
While she waits for change, she tries to process her painful loss.
“I miss you so much Heather, it hurts… I cry for you everyday. I wish this never happened.”