Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
The Drug & Poison Information Center (DPIC) is committed to reducing the incidence and severity of poisoning within its 24-county designated service region representing half (5.8 million) of the total population of Ohio. Sustainable funding is a problem for many poison centers, including the DPIC. Our host institution, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, continues to subsidize the poison control helpline with little to no support from the State of Ohio. Funding from this grant/project will be used to support the personnel and operating budget required to meet the five stated HRSA Program Objectives as further outlined in our proposal. These strategies include a variety of activities and measurable objectives oriented to these goals, including: Provision of high-quality guidance and information on the Poison HELPline o Training and professional development opportunities for our hotline personnel o Integration of quality management systems that enable us to measure progress for continuous improvement initiatives o Expanded opportunities for health professional training and education Support of poisoning prevention activities o Conducting updated needs assessments across our 24-county region o Developing and delivering targeted educational and outreach campaigns to vulnerable populations Collection of data related to poisonings and poisoning outcomes o Initiatives oriented to capturing complete, accurate, and timely data in support of the National Poison Data System (NPDS) o Activities oriented to systems redundancy and preparedness o Maintenance of a toxicosurveillance team dedicated to trend analysis and anomaly investigation Use of data to inform public health and emergency preparedness response o Compliance with defined service level metrics that demonstrate availability of the hotline at all times o Redundant physician toxicologist coverage to assure readiness in the event of a public health emergency o Attenda nce and participation in community preparedness planning with regional response partners Specifically, these funds will be applied to approximately 0.50 FTE of our Specialists in Poison Information, Hotline Manager, Clinical Educator, Community Health Educator, and Program Director responsible for administrative oversight of the program. Since 1981, DPIC has been continually certified to meet accreditation standards set forth by the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC). The most recent full accreditation review was certified in 2022. Currently, the DPIC is staffed with 21 pharmacists and nurses who are Certified Specialists in Poison Information (CSPls) as well 2 specialists who are Diplomats of the American Board of Applied Toxicology (D-ABAT). The Center is extensively involved in various poison and drug abuse prevention, medication education, public health surveillance and disaster preparedness projects within the community.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
