Calif. to Become Only State Without Poison Control
By OLSEN EBRIGHT
Updated 3:02 PM PST, Fri, May 29, 2009
You better put down that glass of bleach and stop eating poison oak, because the California Poison Control System is going away.
As the Golden State faces a new multi-billion dollar deficit, the program had to go. Once the cuts go into effect in September, California will become the only state without a poison control service.
"To solve our immediate cash crisis, we simply cannot avoid deep and painful cuts in spending. Some of these solutions are things I would never have considered in the past but, unfortunately, our state could be in a worst case scenario if the propositions fail," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month.
But according to the CPCS, the program saves California $70 million in health care costs, prevents 164,000 emergency room visits annually and manages more than 300,000 cases annually.
"The elimination of poison control services will precipitate an immediate shift to more costly and already overburdened sectors of California's healthcare system as residents have no choice but to go directly to an Emergency Department or call 911," according to a CPCS statement.
So between now and September, if a snake bites you, call the CPCS at 1-800-222-1222. After that, we recommend trying 911.
The CPCS is encouraging people to call the governor at 916-445-2841 and voice their frustration about the shutdown. While you have the governor on the horn, do us a favor and see if you can fix healthcare, education, traffic and the tax system.
First Published: May 29, 2009 1:11 PM PST
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