Approximately 11,171 deaths are attributed to the toxic drug poisoning since the public health emergency was declared in April, 2016. In B.C., the Coroner’s service reports approximately 6 lives lost every day to drug toxicity. These numbers will only continue to climb by day, month, and year as more deaths are investigated. Listen as Shanyn describes her call to action and how she gets the attention of political leaders to create change. Shanyn is the first to admit that never in a million years did she think her nursing career would be linked to political action, adeptly sharing how and where change happens.
Shanyn Simcoe, is a registered nurse of settler and Indigenous ancestry raised in Treaty 13 territory and currently residing on the unceded and traditional territory of the K’omox Nation. Shanyn’s nursing career has been predominantly in direct-care in acute psychiatry, primary care, and community-based Mental Health and Substance Use with a recent shift to a regional quality and safety leadership role following completion of an advanced practice leadership graduate degree. For her, in addition to being an inherent responsibility, political activism is also an act of self-care.
*Correction for the episode: Shanyn was put in touch with the Hedican family in early 2018, not 2017 as stated.
Stop Overdose B.C.: https://www.stopoverdose.gov.bc.ca
British Columbia Centre on Substance Use: https://www.bccsu.ca
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