A generous gift shows support for a program that offers immediate assistance to parents, medical professionals and poisoned people of all ages.
The Nebraska Regional Poison Center has received $25,000 from the Iowa West Foundation.
“We are very grateful to the Iowa West Foundation for providing us with this grant,” said Kathy Jacobitz, managing director of the Nebraska Regional Poison Center. “This generous contribution will support the life-saving operations of our center as we continue to provide valuable assistance to people across the region.”
The Nebraska Regional Poison Center provides a 24-hour emergency telephone hotline staffed by a nationally certified team of registered nurses and physicians. These experienced experts offer treatment recommendations during suspected poisonings — a service that’s available free of charge to both the public and health care professionals.
In 2005, the Poison Center team handled 36,604 incoming calls and made more than 31,000 follow-up phone calls, many of them to parents and caregivers.
Fifty-six-percent of the poisoning exposures last year involved children under the age of six.
“In a majority of the poisoning calls we receive, we’re actually helping people avoid trips to the hospital,” Jacobitz said. “In 2005, that amounted to a savings of more than $22.5 million in avoided emergency department costs.”
The Poison Center is dedicated to educating the public about poisoning hazards, sharing awareness materials with schools and businesses.
The center also hosts poison education seminars for physicians, nurses and pharmacists.
The Nebraska Regional Poison Center hotline is 955-5555 in the Omaha metro or toll-free 1-800-222-1222. UNMC, The Nebraska Medical Center and the Creighton University Medical Center sponsor it.
You can find the Poison Center online at www.nebraskapoison.com.