"Children act fast and so do poisons." This is a common saying at the Poison Control Center, operated by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Founded 40 years ago, it provides free lifesaving services to the approximately 9 million people across eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware who might need the center during a crisis.
Products that pose a poisoning hazard to young children include everything from single-use laundry capsules to "button" batteries, which can cause severe injury if swallowed. Recent years have seen dangerously large increases in cases involving THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, and fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that’s up to 50 times stronger than heroin.
Poison Control Center Medical Director Kevin Osterhoudt, MD, MSCE, says one mark of the center’s success is how many people they keep out of the hospital — more than 90% of those who call the 24/7 hotline from home get immediate, expert assistance.
"One of the things we’re proudest of is that we’re freely available to anybody who needs us in their time of crisis," Dr. Osterhoudt says. The hotline is not just available for families but for healthcare providers and public health officials as well.
How it started: "Spies" in a trailer
The center started from modest beginnings in 1985 — a handful of people working out of a trailer in the parking lot of what is now CHOP’s Philadelphia Campus Emergency Department. Dr. Osterhoudt has been with the center since 1996.
The current staff numbers 22. This includes the directors, public health programming educators, operations and business staff, and 15 toxicology experts. The toxicology experts, most of whom are trained as nurses and pharmacists, staff the call center and are called Specialists in Poison Information (SPIs, which gets pronounced "spies").
Doctors who specialize in poisonings involving children are rare; only 32 pediatricians nationwide also have board certification in medical toxicology. CHOP’s Poison Control Center has the only two pediatrician-medical toxicologists in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
How the center has evolved
"Poison control centers began before the internet, before mobile phones," Dr. Osterhoudt says. "And frankly, product labeling was not very good back then. So poison centers had an important role in cataloging different products, figuring out what their toxic components were, and communicating that to the public."
The center’s scope has expanded in recent years, specifically during COVID-19. Thanks to the initiative of Jeanette D. Trella, PharmD, Senior Director of the Center for Public Health Readiness and Response, the center leveraged its expertise in community outreach, risk communication and triage to activate a 24/7 regional call center to help distill the often-conflicting information coming from various sources at the height of the pandemic.
"We realized that we could expand the talents of the Poison Control Center and use them in other public health and crisis situations," Dr. Osterhoudt says. Easy internet access via mobile phones means that people can get information more quickly than ever before. With medical information more accessible online, he says the focus has shifted somewhat to helping medical providers triage severe poisoning cases.
In addition to advising families and clinicians in times of crisis, the Poison Control Center team advocates for child safety. They analyze data to identify causes of illness or injury and then work with other groups to push for changes that prevent those injuries. The most famous example? Making child-resistant safety caps standard on all medications, the result of a collective effort from multiple U.S. centers.
"We take it for granted," Dr. Osterhoudt says. "But child poisonings were once much more severe because of easier access to adult medication."
Looking to the future
These days, people make fewer phone calls, preferring to communicate via text or chat. The team is exploring ways to leverage technology to meet people where they are most comfortable.
Their data analysis stays nimble, identifying new or established products that may pose an increased risk of poisoning because of easy access or reckless social media recommendations.
"The ability of social media to amplify risk behaviors has become a trend the poison center has had to prepare for and respond to," Dr. Osterhoudt says.
If you or a loved one needs help from the Poison Control Center, dial the 24-hour hotline at 800-222-1222.
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"Children act fast and so do poisons." This is a common saying at the Poison Control Center, operated by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Founded 40 years ago, it provides free lifesaving services to the approximately 9 million people across eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware who might need the center during a crisis.
Products that pose a poisoning hazard to young children include everything from single-use laundry capsules to "button" batteries, which can cause severe injury if swallowed. Recent years have seen dangerously large increases in cases involving THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, and fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that’s up to 50 times stronger than heroin.
Poison Control Center Medical Director Kevin Osterhoudt, MD, MSCE, says one mark of the center’s success is how many people they keep out of the hospital — more than 90% of those who call the 24/7 hotline from home get immediate, expert assistance.
"One of the things we’re proudest of is that we’re freely available to anybody who needs us in their time of crisis," Dr. Osterhoudt says. The hotline is not just available for families but for healthcare providers and public health officials as well.
How it started: "Spies" in a trailer
The center started from modest beginnings in 1985 — a handful of people working out of a trailer in the parking lot of what is now CHOP’s Philadelphia Campus Emergency Department. Dr. Osterhoudt has been with the center since 1996.
The current staff numbers 22. This includes the directors, public health programming educators, operations and business staff, and 15 toxicology experts. The toxicology experts, most of whom are trained as nurses and pharmacists, staff the call center and are called Specialists in Poison Information (SPIs, which gets pronounced "spies").
Doctors who specialize in poisonings involving children are rare; only 32 pediatricians nationwide also have board certification in medical toxicology. CHOP’s Poison Control Center has the only two pediatrician-medical toxicologists in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
How the center has evolved
"Poison control centers began before the internet, before mobile phones," Dr. Osterhoudt says. "And frankly, product labeling was not very good back then. So poison centers had an important role in cataloging different products, figuring out what their toxic components were, and communicating that to the public."
The center’s scope has expanded in recent years, specifically during COVID-19. Thanks to the initiative of Jeanette D. Trella, PharmD, Senior Director of the Center for Public Health Readiness and Response, the center leveraged its expertise in community outreach, risk communication and triage to activate a 24/7 regional call center to help distill the often-conflicting information coming from various sources at the height of the pandemic.
"We realized that we could expand the talents of the Poison Control Center and use them in other public health and crisis situations," Dr. Osterhoudt says. Easy internet access via mobile phones means that people can get information more quickly than ever before. With medical information more accessible online, he says the focus has shifted somewhat to helping medical providers triage severe poisoning cases.
In addition to advising families and clinicians in times of crisis, the Poison Control Center team advocates for child safety. They analyze data to identify causes of illness or injury and then work with other groups to push for changes that prevent those injuries. The most famous example? Making child-resistant safety caps standard on all medications, the result of a collective effort from multiple U.S. centers.
"We take it for granted," Dr. Osterhoudt says. "But child poisonings were once much more severe because of easier access to adult medication."
Looking to the future
These days, people make fewer phone calls, preferring to communicate via text or chat. The team is exploring ways to leverage technology to meet people where they are most comfortable.
Their data analysis stays nimble, identifying new or established products that may pose an increased risk of poisoning because of easy access or reckless social media recommendations.
"The ability of social media to amplify risk behaviors has become a trend the poison center has had to prepare for and respond to," Dr. Osterhoudt says.
If you or a loved one needs help from the Poison Control Center, dial the 24-hour hotline at 800-222-1222.
How to Keep Your Household Safe
What advice would Dr. Osterhoudt give parents to make their children and their homes as safe as possible?
- Regularly inventory your house and properly dispose of dangerous chemicals and medications you no longer use.
- For medications or hazardous substances you keep at home, put them out of reach, out of sight and out of mind for young people.
- Talk to your pharmacist to understand the proper dosage information for any medication you or your child take. Medication errors are a significant percentage of poisonings.
- Pay attention to and address the mental health needs of your family, particularly for children and young adults.
“People talk about children getting accidentally poisoned,” Dr. Osterhoudt says. “But if you have a drug like THC in a candy treat, and you leave it on a table where a child is in the house, that’s not an accident. That’s completely predictable, and completely preventable.”
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