Poison control has new name, same services

The name change was made because the public needs to know that center responds to prescription-drug questions, according to Kathleen Waszolek, Center director. Also, the center is on the Banner Good Samaritan campus

In 2008, the center about half of the center's more than 90,000 were drug related.

“We don’t want people to think that the center only answers questions about poison,” said Waszolek. “Quite often, individuals need answers about mixing prescriptions, or perhaps they need help identifying a pill. The Banner Good Samaritan Poison and Drug Information Center can help them.”

The Banner Good Samaritan Poison and Drug Information Center's Hotline received more than 105,000 phone calls for exposures in 2008, including:

• 54,000 human exposures to toxins and poisons
• 23,000 pediatric exposures age 12 and under
• 27,200 exposures age 19 and under
• 14,000 persons bitten or stung by snakes, scorpions, spiders or other venomous creatures
• 45,370 calls for identification of drugs, information concerning teratogens (agents causing birth defects) and drug
  information
• Nurses and poison control experts made more than 150,000 outgoing follow-up calls to provide home management.

Approximately 41,000 exposed persons were treated in their own home without a trip to an Emergency department and the Poison Center experts made more than 150,000 outgoing follow-up calls to provide home management. Based on surveys of callers to the Poison Center, 29,000 of these cases would have gone to nearby hospital emergency departments and preventing more than $30 million in unnecessary healthcare bills.

If you need poison help the Banner Good Samaritan Poison and Drug Information Center is just a phone call away and can be reached at 1 (800) 222-1222. The Center provides a free, 24-hour emergency telephone service for both residents and medical professionals of Maricopa County. The Poison Center nurses, with assistance from board-certified medical toxicologists and Banner Good Samaritan's clinical pharmacists, provide information about poisonous substances, first aid information, treatment recommendations, drug identification and information, and a healthy dose of support and caring to all callers. Non-emergent information may also be obtained by e-mail.

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Contact:
Banner Good Samaritan Public Relations
(602) 239-4411