About the Poison Control Center

The Poison Control Center (PCC) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) provides poison control services to people of all ages in Eastern Pennsylvania, the greater Philadelphia area and Delaware. The PCC a is a dedicated resource available to both families and healthcare providers throughout our community.

We perform active epidemic surveillance that allows us to identify public threats, analyze community trends, conduct injury-prevention advocacy, and monitor for potential incidents of terrorism.

What we do:

• Provide a 24-hour, toll-free, multilingual hotline: 1-800-222-1222
• Educate the public on poisoning prevention and awareness with our extensive library of poison educational materials
• Identify new toxic threats and track poisoning epidemics as part of a national surveillance system
• Advise public health agencies, advocacy groups, government officials and news media on poisoning-related issues
• Provide patient-specific poison information to healthcare professionals
• Provide professional education and training for healthcare providers on poisoning prevention and treatment

“I'm so glad I thought to call you. It saved me a trip to the emergency room. Thanks again!”

Our poison center experts

The Poison Control Center is one of 55 accredited poison centers in the United States. As a nonprofit public health organization, we work to reduce the number of injuries and deaths associated with poison exposures.

All calls to the center are answered by a Specialist in Poison Information (SPI) who is either a registered nurse or pharmacist with special training in toxicology. All of our SPIs have passed a rigorous certification exam administered by our accrediting body, the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC).

In one day, an SPI may counsel a parent whose child has swallowed a handful of vitamins, an adult who took a double dose of his blood pressure medication, an emergency response professional at an accident site spewing toxic fumes and an emergency department physician treating an overdose victim. No matter the circumstance, callers can rely on a team of professionals who have extensive training, experience and the most current medical information available for the management of poisoning exposures. The SPIs work with a continually updated database to identify the ingredients and toxicities of millions of pharmaceutical products and everyday items such as household cleaning products, cosmetics, over-the-counter medications and arts and crafts supplies.

For patients who are critically ill, or whose cases are particularly unusual, our medical director, medical toxicology consultants and specialists will provide direct consultation to the attending physician and maintain communication throughout the patient's hospital course of treatment. Our medical toxicology consultants include toxicology experts from several local academic institutions, and expand our ability to provide services to the region.

“Thank you so much for being there and thoroughly answering my questions. Thank you also for the follow up call a little later. I’m grateful that you were there and that I was able to get reliable answers quickly.”

Hospital Membership Program

Our Hospital Membership Program provides member hospitals with open 24/7 access to the Poison Control Center hotline, as well as availability for hospital-specific and regional poison center call data. This partnership allows us to provide the right care in the right place at the right time, which is a model for optimal healthcare delivery.

Thank you to our current member hospitals:

• Abington Memorial Hospital
• Aria Health System
• Berwick Hospital
• Brandywine Hospital
• Bryn Mawr Hospital
• Chester County Hospital
• Crozer Chester Medical Center
• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Delaware County Memorial Hospital
• Doylestown Hospital
• Einstein Healthcare Network
• Ephrata Community Hospital
• Geisinger Community Medical Center of Scranton
• Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital
• Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital
• Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center
• Grand View Health
• Holy Redeemer Health System
• Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
• Lancaster General Hospital
• Lankenau Medical Center
• Lansdale Hospital – Abington Health
• Lower Bucks Hospital
• Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital
• Mercy Philadelphia Hospital
• Mercy Suburban Hospital
• Moses Taylor Hospital
• Paoli Memorial Hospital
• Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
• Penn State Hershey Medical Center
• Pennsylvania Hospital
• Phoenixville Hospital
• Pinnacle Health at Harrisburg Hospital
• Pocono Medical Center
• Reading Hospital and Medical Center
• Riddle Memorial Hospital
• Roxborough Memorial Hospital
• Springfield Hospital
• St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
• St. Mary Medical Center
• Taylor Hospital
• Temple University Hospital
• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
• University of Pennsylvania  Hospital
• VAMC-Lebanon
• Wayne Memorial Hospital