Hawaii poison The Hawaii Poison Center, which receives 11,000 to 12,000 calls annually, faces closure if it doesn't receive state funding, says director Debbie Ahina.
hotline faces money
emergency
By Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comShe was among officials, doctors and parents urging the House Health Committee this week to appropriate $260,000 per year for the next two fiscal years to the state Health Department to operate the 24-hour poison program.
In a letter to the legislators, Jaymi Mahan of Kihei, Maui, said the center "was there for me recently when my 3-year-old daughter discovered some ant poison and we had no idea how much she ate or what to do next."
She said she called the center and "had answers within a minute. ... I am so thankful for the help they were able to offer and cannot imagine the center not being around for those facing a poisoning crisis."
The 45-year-old center has struggled to keep its doors open since losing state funding in 1995. Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children administers and underwrites it.
The center is in the second year of a two-year federal grant of $60,000 per year. It also has received funding from other hospitals, health plans, trusts and foundations and individuals. However, such support is precarious because of declining reimbursements to hospitals, Ahina said. Kapiolani can't continue to cover shortfalls, she said.
Willow Morton, the poison center's vice president, said contributions have dropped off and the deficit next year will probably be at least double this year's $50,000.
She said she hopes Kapiolani will be able to continue providing some support for the center, but she's worried about competition with core hospital services.
"We're very anxious. ... We know it's a tough money situation, but we just can't see the community or the state being without a poison center."
The center estimates it saved more than $1.9 million in health care costs for Hawaii's families last year. About 90 percent of calls are from the public and the rest from medical professionals. Specialists treat about 73 percent of the calls over the phone.
Dr. Stephen Graner, past president of the Hawaii Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians, in a letter to legislators said the center is "indispensable" to his emergency practice.
"Imagine my surprise to find the center is not supported by public funding," he said, urging legislators to pass legislation "placing responsibility for funding the Hawaii Poison Center where it belongs: With us, the citizens of Hawaii."
Morton said the state appropriation is needed to staff the 24-hour hotline with trained poison information specialists and to maintain an affiliation with the Rocky Mountain Poison Center for consultation with its toxicologists. They also come here several times a year for medical and professional education, she said.
The Hawaii Poison Center provides local expertise and reviews and follows up all calls to make sure everything went okay, she said.
Other major costs involve maintaining the special phone system and access to a data base containing more than a million substances, Morton explained.
The center must track and report all statistics to the National Poison Data Base. "We can watch what's happening nationwide and compare Hawaii," she said. "We're very similar, according to our physicians."
Sixty percent of cases involve children and pediatricians strongly support the center, she said. Veterinarians also support it because about 300 calls a year involve pet poisonings, she said.
Morton said the center received many calls during the anthrax scare, the dengue fever outbreak and mercury spill and worked with the state Health Department to get information out. The center also is working with the state to participate in bioterroism and other programs.
The 24-hour hotline is: 941-4411 on Oahu; 1-800-362-3585 toll-free from the neighbor islands. The education program number is 535-7908 on Oahu; 1-866-401-1956 from the neighbor islands.
Hawaii Poison Center
