Think Poison Control before 911

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — New Mexicans accidentally poison themselves ore often than people in most other states. Every year thousands of those New Mexicans head to the emergency room when a simple phone call could have saved them the trip; and saved you millions of dollars.

In moments of panic, most people remember 911. But the poison control center wants people to call it first; saying it would save everyone a lot of money.

“Most of the calls we get involve children under 5 years of age,” Poison Control Director, Doctor Jess Bensen, said. “Most of those calls are going to involve children that got into a medication sitting out on the counter top, sometimes it’s involves a household product.”

The poison center handles 25,000 calls a year, but it’s the calls they are not getting that Bensen is also concerned about.

“We certainly don’t want to have people in the emergency rooms who don’t need to be there,” he said.

Bensen said people calling the center are normally more informed, but too many other people rush to call 911 when dealing with a poisoning. That takes up ambulances and valuable emergency room space.

“About 65 to 75 percent of the poisonings we deal with can be managed at home,” he said. “We as taxpayers have to pay for some of those patients that end up in our emergency rooms.”

Bensen said the center could save the public about $20 million a year by keeping people out of the ER. The center is reaching out with new public services announcement. He says there are two groups they want to reach most Native Americans and Spanish speakers.

The center is equipped to handle 70 languages, including Navajo. Bensen said if the poisoning is a real emergency dispatchers will call ambulances for you and even give hospitals a heads up that you’re on the way.

New Mexico does have one of the highest poisoning death rates in the country, but the numbers include every type of drug overdose.

Read the story here.

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