Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5669. The Poison control centers provide vital healthcare services to Americans of all incomes and keep costs from emergency procedures under control. Through their costsaving programs. these centers benefit the general public. the government. health care providers. public health entities. and insurers. In my district. Jay Schauben supervises a poison control center at ShansJacksonville hospital that treats a population of approximately six million. The Florida legislature created this center in 1989 to address overwhelming needs in the areas of exposure treatment and education. and Dr. Schaubens team has risen to the challenge and helped a countless number of my constituents. I would also like to thank Senator David Kames. whose tireless support has been a great help in attaining funding for these important centers. Finally. I would like to thank Dr. Gerold Schiebler of the University of Florida. Dr. Schiebler has been active for decades in the campaign for affordable healthcare and widespread access to poison control services. With our economy in recession. now is certainly no time to further limit access to the quality healthcare services. or to tie the hands of advocates like Dr. Schauben. Senator Karnes. and Dr. Schiebler. So. it is critically important that poison control centers are reauthorized. and that these centers receive full funding through Fiscal Year 2014. A wide variety of Americans benefit from the services poison control centers provide every day. The general public benefits by receiving costfree poisoning prevention guidelines. emergency medical advice. and followup calls about treatment. These services prevent trips to emergency rooms and keep already outrageous healthcare costs from rising even further. I represent one of the poorest districts in the State of Florida. and I have seen first hand the challenges my constituents face in finding affordable healthcare. A study group consisting of medical and poison control experts has found that every dollar spent on poison centers saves seven dollars in healthcare costs. Also. poison control centers provide educational programs aimed at prevention. These programs help educate many uninsured Americans about means of poison prevention. and keep healthcare costs in the U.S. down by avoiding emergency room procedures. In addition to saving low- and middleincome Americans healthcare dollars. poison control centers provide 24hour emergency and informational services via a TollFree National Hotline. This hotline is a vital source of information for many of my constituents. and Americans across the country. who could not otherwise receive medical advice or attertion. This h6tline also provides essential followup calls regarding continuing care of poison exposures. Without a national hotline. many individuals with known or suspected toxic exposures would seek significantly more costly and less accessible healthcare altematives. such as an emergency room visit. Simply. the benefits of these centers are widespread. but are especially helpful to those whose incomes prohibit access to private health care services. Failure to reauthorize these important centers would represent a tremendous disservice to Americans in all Congresslonal districts. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5669.