Poison Control Center
Since 1973, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy has operated the Arkansas Poison Control and Drug Information Center (Center) as a service to individuals and healthcare professionals of the state. The Center’s mission is to provide timely, useful clinical advice in potential poison exposures while enhancing a statewide system of population-based surveillance, vital records and statistics, with an ongoing plan to monitor, test, and implement processes to reach unprecedented levels of performance.
The Center serves the entire state with poisoning, infectious disease and public health emergency information. Our professional staff provides necessary triage via the nation's toll-free poison and emergency telephone number (800-222-1222). This number serves all of the United States 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our center handled more than 37,000 emergency and public health information calls for Arkansans in 2008. The Center is a highly effective, efficient, successful public health service.
Center Information
- In 2008, the Center staff answered a total of 37,991 calls. All 75 counties in the state were reached monthly based on volume.
- Children under the age of 6 accounted for 13,311 exposure calls, representing 56% of all poison related exposures.
- The Arkansas Poison Control Center saved an estimated $9.10, in unnecessary treatments costs, for every $1 spent on the Poison Control Center in 07-08.
- The staff now comprises 7 pharmacists, 5 nurses, 1 physician, and 1 public health educator.
- Since 1999, calls to the Center have increased by approximately 30%.
- Substances involved most frequently in all human exposures were pharmaceuticals.
- The most common exposures in children less than age 6 were over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and household cleaning products.
- Approximately 350,000 pieces of poison prevention educational materials have been distributed within the state since 2007. The vast majority of these materials identify UAMS and the College of Pharmacy as the support for the program. These educational outreaches are focused on underserved populations, especially rural families and members of racial and ethnic minority groups.
Our History
On March 26, 1991, Act 796 formally created the Arkansas Poison Control and Drug Information Center and Act 797 provided appropriations for services and operating expenses for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. Initially the UAMS Emergency Department provided overnight coverage, but the Poison Control and Drug Information Center began taking all calls on June 1, 1999. The Center serves the entire state of Arkansas with a population base of approximately 2.8 million people, according to the most current estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Poison Control Center has been certified by the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) as a regionalized poison control center since September, 2005. Retaining certified staff is a priority for the longevity of this or any center. Salary and fringe benefits account for nearly 90% of the present budget of $1,573,573 for 08-09. As an indicator of increased costs to operate the center, in 2000 the average salary for new pharmacy graduates in Arkansas was $65,279. This salary level has increased by 59.3% to $108,000 in 2009, while the budget of the Center has remained stagnant.
The Need
Our Center needs increased support. Annual
appropriations of Arkansas of $914,796 for Poison Control and $160,000
for Drug Information Center provide our baseline funding. In the 2007
and 2009 Legislative Sessions, our appropriations were continued at the
same level as in 2000. In the nine years since state funds were last
increased, professional staff salaries alone have grown by 60%.
Required expenses for electric power backups and ongoing updates to our
secure information technology systems have grown along with salaries.
We face today the reality that our telephone system is barely adequate
for our call volume, and soon must be replaced.
Because of the Center’s commitment to providing services, it has
exceeded its budget in the past three fiscal years. The budget now
depends on the College of Pharmacy temporarily providing interim
funding. This stop-gap practice must end, to free funds for the
education of larger classes.
Won't you partner with UAMS and support the College’s Poison Control and Drug Information Center?
Contact Us
To learn more about these and other funding opportunities in the UAMS College of Pharmacy, please contact:
Ann Turney, Director of Development, College of Pharmacy
(501) 686-6391 or annturney@uams.edu
Jonathan Wolfe, Associate Dean, College of Pharmacy
(501) 686-6498 or wolfejonathanj@uams.edu
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Example of Patient Service
Drug-Induced Headache?
On a Saturday evening a mother called the Arkansas Poison Center regarding her 12 year old son’s severe headaches. She wanted to know if paroxetine (Paxil®) could cause migraine headaches. Her son had started paroxetine on Friday and later that evening complained of a headache. The headache had become so severe that the point the child wanted nothing more than a dark room and quiet. She added that he had a slight fever and refused to turn his head in either direction. These facts led our specialist to advise immediate medical attention. Paroxetine could cause headache, but the severity of symptoms warranted a physical examination. The specialist was very concerned about meningitis and expressed this to the mother. The mother asked if the child could wait to be seen in the morning at a pediatric clinic. The specialist advised immediate transportation to an emergency department.
The mother called the poison center that same evening, very grateful for the polite, but forceful recommendation. Examination determined that her son did not have meningitis, but instead had suffered a cerebral bleed. Delaying treatment could have made the situation much worse. Over the duration of many days the child regained full function. This mother credits the center with saving her child’s life.
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