In 1997, many separate California poison centers were unified into the present system, which is managed by the University of California School of Pharmacy at San Francisco. Most of them are good. But with most of those moms who call, I get to tell them they can stay home with their child. No need to traumatize everyone with a trip to the emergency room. That saves everyone money, too.
Studies show every dollar spent on poison centers saves seven dollars in health care costs.
And maybe I can help ensure a good outcome for some folks. We quickly provide information that's not readily available anywhere else. We're always here to answer the call, and we can provide translators for more than 100 languages. We have a lot of clinicians and other folks who work here, and poisons are all we do. I like to think that we're all pretty good at it.