HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) today announced $1.5 million in grants to improve services offered by the nation’s poison control centers.
 
“Each year, poison control centers report more than 2 million poisonings, most occurring at home and involving young children,” Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said.  “These funds will promote partnerships at the state and community level to support poison control outreach and education.”
 
The two-year “incentive”grants will be given to 11 poison control centers through hospitals and universities around the country.  These centers will collaborate with other poison control centers and public health agencies to improve services and cost-savings in a large number of centers nationwide.
 
Examples of incentive grant projects include helping to centralize data among Texas poison control centers; developing an Internet site to improve cooperation among centers in the Midwest; expanding outreach and education among Native Americans; and increasing resources for managing poisonings from exotic snake bites. 
 
“These grants will enhance services that save lives, reduce illness and lower health care and emergency room costs as a result of poisonings,” says HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke.”
 
The grants are awarded through the Poison Control Program in HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau. 
 
The Poison Control Program is funded by the Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act of 2000.  Program stabilization and certification grants in excess of $15 million annually also are awarded to help provide financial stabilization and improvements in services to 63 poison control centers serving all of the States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
 
A table of incentive grant recipients follows.
 

Poison Control Incentive Grants, FY 2003
Organization	Affiliated PoisonControlCenter	City	State	Award
University of Arizona	Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center	Tucson	Ariz.	$149,600
Fulton-De Kalb Hospital Authority	Georgia Poison Center	Atlanta	Ga.	$93,671
MCHC-Chicago Hospital Council	Illinois Poison Center	Chicago	Ill.	$75,000
University of Louisiana at Monroe	Louisiana Drug and Poison Information Center	Monroe	La.	$150,000
Children's Hospital	Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention	Boston	Mass.	$150,000
Spectrum Health	DeVos Children’s Hospital Regional Poison Center	Grand Rapids	Mich.	$127,995
Hennepin County Medical Center	Hennepin Regional Poison Control Center	Minneapolis	Minn.	$126,830
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital	Carolinas Poison Center	Charlotte	N.C.	$150,000
Children's Hospital Medical Center	Cincinnati Drug & Poison Information Center	Cincinnati	Ohio	$150,000
Board of Regents of the Univ. of Oklahoma	Oklahoma Poison Control Center	Oklahoma City	Okla.	$150,000
Scott & White Memorial Hospital	Central Texas Poison Center	Temple	Texas	$150,000
		TOTAL:		$1,473,096

 
 
  (The National Poison Control Hotline is 1-800-222-1222, which connects callers to local poison control centers.)