Four years after Indigenous woman dies in Niagara hospital waiting room, family still waiting for coroner’s report

Winterstein family believes death at St. Catharines, Ont., hospital was preventable

Four years after a 24-year-old Indigenous woman died at a St. Catharines hospital, her family is still waiting for a coroner’s report to find out why she wasn’t given more medical care.

Heather Winterstein arrived at Marotta Family Hospital (formerly St. Catharines General Hospital) on Dec. 9, 2021, with severe back pain. She was initially sent home with Tylenol, but returned the next day, passed out in the waiting room, and died moments later. Her family later learned the cause of death was a blood infection caused by strep A.

“Heather’s death devastated us,” said Winterstein’s aunt, Jill-Lan, adding, “Her family believes this was preventable.”

Winterstein's family described her as a beautiful, quiet person who loved her parents, animals and the color pink.

She has roots in two indigenous communities, the Saughan and the Grand River Six Nations. Her family believes Heather was denied proper medical care and evaluation due to systemic discrimination and racism, issues that a medical inquest could examine and perhaps lead to changes that would help other indigenous patients.

Under Ontario law, medical inquests are usually held years after a person's death and there is no time limit on when they can be held.

The Ministry of the Sheriff's Office has announced that a medical inquest will be held to examine the circumstances of Winterstein's death and make recommendations to the grand jury, but the date and location have not yet been set.

Investigations show that Winterstein was discharged without evaluation on her first visit to the hospital despite having abnormal vital signs, and her medical diagnosis was more likely to be related to social issues than physical illness.

On the day she returned to the hospital, she waited for two and a half hours as lay staff and patients tried to help her. One of the patients wheeled her to the triage table before she passed out.

The review panel said unconscious bias was likely involved, as Heather had been labeled “addicted” and “homeless.”

Niagara Hospital has accepted all of the review panel’s recommendations and has taken steps including:

* Mandatory training for staff on cultural safety
* Creating a dedicated space for Indigenous patients at Marota Hospital
* Forming an Indigenous Health Services and Reconciliation Team
* Displaying Indigenous artwork throughout the hospital
* Increasing Indigenous representation on advisory and decision-making bodies and recruiting and retraining Indigenous staff and physicians

Winterstein’s aunt hopes her granddaughter will see justice when the investigation is complete. “Justice for Heather Winterstein will mean lasting, meaningful and impactful changes in Indigenous health care,” she says.

Lan stressed that the system needs to be overhauled and that anti-Indigenous discrimination and racism must stop at all levels of healthcare. Proposed changes include hiring more Indigenous nurses and doctors and ensuring equal access to substance abuse treatment, prevention and counselling services.