County Council Highlights for April 17, 2024

Warden Praises Volunteers and Urges Support for Hospice

Essex County Warden Hilda MacDonald wore a blue Hospice dove pin at Wednesday’s council meeting and encouraged residents to support the organization.

The Hospice of Windsor and Essex County “does such a tremendous job providing compassionate end-of-life care and support to residents of all ages, their families and their caregivers,” the warden said. “You can show your support for The Hospice by making a donation when you see boxes of these beautiful dove pins appearing at stores and other locations in Windsor and Essex County April 25 to April 28.”

MacDonald noted that The Hospice and a wide range of other initiatives and organizations are supported by volunteers, who are being recognized during National Volunteer Week (April 14 to April 20).

“In Essex County alone, tens of thousands of individuals give freely of their time, talents and passions every year. The number of volunteer hours is staggering and makes such a difference,” MacDonald said. “Thank you, volunteers, for all the good you do.”

The warden also pointed out preparations are beginning at the intersection of County Road 42 and County Road 43, where this year a new roundabout is being constructed and other improvements are being made. For updates and more information go to the web page countyofessex.ca/CR42/.

Pathway to Potential Strategy Update Presented to Council

Windsor and Essex County’s Pathway to Potential poverty reduction strategy has been updated to provide a road map for action over the next four years.

The updated strategy document was presented to Essex County Council by consultants and representatives from the City of Windsor, which administers the Pathway to Potential program.

Pathway to Potential provides funding for Windsor-Essex agencies that support vulnerable youth and families, works with municipal departments to remove accessibility and financial barriers, and collaborates with community leaders toward a shared vision of prosperity for all. Essex County is contributing approximately $670,000 to Pathway to Potential in 2024.

EMS Mapping and Promoting use of Public Access Defibrillators

Essex-Windsor EMS will be asking the public to assist it in mapping the locations of automatic external defibrillators and encouraging their use, Chief Justin Lammers said in a report to council.

The emergency medical service is using the PulsePoint platform to map and monitor automatic external defibrillators that are accessible to the public. The public will be able to submit locations using the PulsePoint app or by going to the County of Essex Automated External Defibrillators web page.

Once a location has been confirmed, it will appear on the map used by the communicators who dispatch paramedics to cases of cardiac arrest. The communicators can immediately direct bystanders to the nearest publicly accessible defibrillator, so they can begin trying to restart the patient’s heart while paramedics make their way to the scene.

As well as mapping the public access defibrillators, Essex-Windsor EMS recently provided cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) awareness training to County of Essex staff, family members and friends – a program it hopes to eventually offer to the public, says the chief’s report.

Ontario’s Defibrillator Registration and Public Access Act – passed in 2020 but not yet in effect – makes automatic external defibrillators mandatory in work and public spaces, and requires the machines be maintained.

“While we anticipate the Act to come into effect at some point, we can’t wait for legislation to catch up to do the right thing,” Lammers says in this report.

Additional Deputy Clerk and Deputy Treasurer Appointed

Council has appointed a second deputy clerk and deputy treasurer to ensure there is always someone available to carry out the statutory duties of the Essex County clerk and treasurer. CAO Sandra Zwiers was made a deputy clerk and Manager of Accounting-Operations Amy Wolters was made a deputy treasurer.