Open All the Time
Drug and Poison Information Center Is Always Available
 |
|---|
| Cabinet locks help keep medications and cleaners out of little hands. |
It's the phone call all parents hope they will never need to make. But if they do, specialists at the Drug and Poison Information Center (DPIC) are ready.
Every day, products like vitamins, cleaners and cosmetics – items that people consider safe – present overwhelming risks to children when spilled, ingested or inhaled. In 2004, 72.5 percent of the phone calls to DPIC at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center concerned exposure to potentially harmful chemicals involving children.
Growing Demand
Because exposure to drugs and poisons can happen at any time, DPIC is always open. In the last 25 years more than 10 poison centers in Ohio have permanently shut their doors. As a result, the center at Cincinnati Children's serves 38 counties and 4.7 million residents.
Between 1998 and 2005 the number of calls to the center more than doubled. With few public funding sources for support, Cincinnati Children's provides $1.1 million to operate DPIC each year.
A Voice on the Phone
DPIC relies on certified poison and drug information specialists to answer the hotline and determine the severity of an exposure. "We provide triage, education, referral and consultation," says G. Randall Bond, MD, medical director of the center. "We are available for parents with a once-ina-lifetime emergency, and as a resource for physicians when they see an unusual overdose or combination of exposures."
"Our hotline operators are trained to answer the phone with a calm voice, an appropriate 'take charge' attitude, knowledgeable demeanor and the ability to talk about complex issues at a level the caller understands," says Gaylene Tsipis, MS, RPh, co-director of the center. Asking the right questions can often determine whether someone stays home to deal with the situation or goes to the nearest medical facility.
Early Intervention
| Yearly Calls to the Drug and Poison Information Center |
|---|
 |
Along with a statewide campaign to increase awareness about common poisons, the Prevention Research Unit, an arm of DPIC in association with the University of Cincinnati, works locally to promote drug-free communities. Outreach specialists identify children and adolescents in specific communities to prevent drug abuse.
"Prevention is the most cost-effective way to address the social ills that everyone worries about," says Marsha Polk, director of the Prevention Research Unit. "We work to put into place protective measures for the most vulnerable children." Working in crime- and drug-infested neighborhoods with families living in chronic poverty, prevention workers teach young people decision-making skills to reduce their vulnerability to drugs and alcohol.
In the Blink of an Eye
Exposure to a dangerous substance can happen in the blink of an eye. That's why DPIC exists. No matter how hard parents try to be careful and safe, anything can happen. Parents shouldn't waste time thinking about what to do – they should call DPIC immediately.
"Calling us is a lot safer than other methods people resort to in times of crisis," explains Earl Siegel, PharmD, co-director of the center. "A drug or chemical exposure creates fear, causing people to make hasty decisions like sticking a finger or a spoon down a child's throat or punching a child in the stomach to make him throw up. And either of those choices may cause more harm than the original exposure."
