Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
The Iowa Statewide Poison Control Center (ISPCC) is the designated poison control center for Iowa and is nationally accredited by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Serving a population of 3,190,369 (2020 Census Estimate), the ISPCC provides 24/7 poison information and treatment advice through the Poison Help line, 1-800-222-1222, at no cost to the caller. Interpretation services are available in more than 150 languages. The mission of the ISPCC is to reduce harm from poisoning, save lives and decrease healthcare costs through providing 24/7 expert emergency telephone advice, poison prevention information and education. By providing expert treatment advice over the phone, IPCC specially trained nurses, pharmacists, and physicians manage over 90% of pediatric cases entirely at home, avoiding unnecessary ambulance transports and emergency department treatment resulting in dramatic savings in healthcare costs. There has been a growing number in recent years of young people attempting suicide by overdosing on medications, particularly among adolescent females. Drugs most frequently identified in suspected suicide attempts include pain relievers (over-the-counter medications and opioids) and antidepressant medications. Goals of this project are to: 1) increase awareness of ISPCC services and ensure maximum visibility of the Poison Help line (1-800-222-1222) through increased social media, statewide partnerships, outreach education and targeted programming; and 2) build organizational capacity to support and enhance services provided by the ISPCC to maintain national standards of accreditation through a blend of strong leadership, staff recruitment and retention, professional development and resource generation for long-term organizational growth and success. The ISPCC’s community-based outreach targets parents and caregivers of children since children are at highest risk of unintentional poisoning. Outreach is also tailored to rural and medically underserved areas of Iowa. Specific program strategies include leveraging social and digital media; linking scannable QR codes into print media, website, and social media pages; creating new poison prevention materials for improving medication safety for all ages, videos and programming; and collaborating with community partners. Our approach to building organizational capacity include shoring up sustainability to support key personnel required for maintaining compliance with accreditation requirements, implement alternative forms of communicating with the public (e.g. chat), professional development, and leadership succession for long-term organizational growth and success. During the five-year grant period, ISPCC staff will evaluate a variety of process and outcome measures to monitor our progress. Through these approaches, we hope to prevent an increase in both fatal non-fatal poisonings, increase engagement from communication efforts, foster utilization and awareness of ISPCC services and the 24/7 Poison Help line, and successfully meet the requirements for reaccreditation in 2026.
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).
