GREATER CLEVELAND POISON CONTROL CENTER

The GREATER CLEVELAND POISON CONTROL CENTER, which was established in 1957, is the oldest such countywide facility in the U.S. The Center has provided a twenty-four-hour emergency telephone hotline for both health-care professionals and the public, and poison-prevention materials, exhibits, and education programs for community groups. The Center was organized by the ACADEMY OF MEDICINE to help reduce childhood accidents due to poisoning. From the start, the program consisted of two components: a telephone emergency service and an educational (preventive) program. Throughout its existence, the Greater Cleveland Poison Control Center has been primarily funded by the Board of Commissioners of Cuyahoga County; it has also received grants from private foundations and federal funds. Between 1957-81 it was sponsored by the Academy of Medicine, with additional help from the FEDERATION FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING and UNITED WAY SERVICES. Since 1981 it has been located on the CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV. campus (in 2006 at 11100 Euclid Avenue), cosponsored by the Department of Pediatrics of the School of Medicine and Rainbow Babies & Childrens Hospital of UNIV. HOSPITALS. While at the Academy of Medicine, the center specialized mainly in the chemical hazards of household products and treatment if swallowed. After moving to CWRU, it expanded to include drug information services and a toxicology program for local INDUSTRY. In 2006 the Greater Cleveland Poison Control Center was the State of Ohio designated Poison Prevention and Treatment Center for Northeast Ohio. Information covering the management of poisoning was provided by specially trained drug and poison information technicians under the supervision of a physician and clinical pharmacist. By that time a follow-up system had been established to monitor the outcome of patients involved in a poisoning.