The Windsor Police Service and Windsor Regional Hospital are being recognized for their partnership.
The Windsor-Essex Innovate Council has awarded the Nurse Police Team (NPT) with the Innovate Challenge Award for their innovative approach to caring for citizens in distress.
The Nurse Police Team, which launched in May 2023, pairs a police officer with a registered nurse. Together, they respond directly to community members experiencing mental-health crises, substance-use issues, and other complex health concerns.
Since 2023, there have been 6,085 calls for service. In 2025 alone, 604 people were diverted from the hospital emergency room. Since January 1, 2026, the Nurse Police Team has had more than 2,700 encounters with individuals in the community.
Luke Di Paolo, Director of Mental Health & Allied Health Services at Windsor Regional Hospital, says it’s wonderful to be recognized with this award.
“We don’t do it for awards, but it’s very nice to be recognized when we see this because we see every day how much it has improved the patients’ lives in our community. This is just truly an honour, and just for our team to be recognized for this is wonderful. But again, we don’t do it for the awards, but we’re truly appreciative of the awards and the grants and the recognition.”
He says this initiative has also led to a decrease in violence towards nurses in the emergency department.
“I find that with the handoffs and when the patients come in with Windsor Police or NPT, we’re able to advocate for the patients. We’re able to be their voice, we’re able to expedite care. That in conjunction with the training that our nurses have received from Windsor Police has really helped reduce the incidence of violence.”
Windsor Police Inspector Rob Wilson says this award is a big deal.
“I give credit to our fantastic community partner of Windsor Regional Hospital. They’ve been excellent, and over the last three or four years now, we’ve been able to build the program up to something that we can’t live without. Our nurses, our officers are on the road every day, and they’re making a big stride and big differences on the road.”
Wilson says this team is an integral part of the community now, and the proof is in the statistics.
“It’s making a difference for diverting people from the ED. So it’s a benefit to EMS, it’s a benefit to the hospital, it’s a benefit to the citizens of Windsor because it’s freed up resources. So if I have my way, then they’ll be around forever, just as long as the community need is out there. And as of right now, it is.”
Natalie Waffle, Registered Nurse at Windsor Regional Hospital, and says being a part of this team is unlike any nursing she’s ever done before.
“It’s cool being able to work with these guys actually out on the streets. It kind of gives us a different perspective on what they do as well. It’s one thing to see people when they come into the hospital inside the four walls, but it’s another thing to see what the situation was actually like before they got to the hospital.”
She says this service is very beneficial and critical for the community.
“A lot of the times too, we get a lot of people who come into the emergency department because there is nowhere else for them to go. So having the nurse ride along with the police, we can help assess, hey, maybe they need to come, or maybe they don’t need to come, and what services can we give them or put in place so that they don’t have to come if it’s not necessary.”
The Nurse Police Team operates daily from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week.
The team is one of 25 innovators that will be recognized in the Windsor-Essex region before the end of 2027.
Nominations for the award come from members of the Windsor-Essex Innovate Council, comprised of leaders from both the public and private sectors in the region.