The Illinois Poison Center needs your help. The center will close July 1, 2014, which means it will be the only state without a poison center.
There are 57 Poison Centers across the country…not one National center. When one places a call to the poison center, the caller’s phone number tells the system where to filter that call, as not all states have a poison center. That said, states pay their share to the states that do have the centers. However, Illinois hosts their own Poison Center.
The Illinois Poison Center is the nation’s oldest poison center and it simply doesn’t have the funding needed to keep running. There’s a solution to the problem, called the “2 Cent Solution.” That said, they need support in getting their legislature to understand how important it is to consumers to keep the center running.
Have you any idea how detrimental this could be to residents if they close the Illinois Poison Center? It’s estimated that 80,000 calls are answered by the Illinois Poison Center. If you found yourself in a situation where you accidentally took the wrong prescription med or your child did something like my daughter and her friend did…where would you turn? Even doctors and hospitals utilize the Poison Centers.
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