Rep. Stansbury Fights for Better Poison Control System with Bipartisan Letter

ALBUQUERQUE—Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury (NM-01) was joined by Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX) on a letter to the Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA) expressing concerns over the recent uptick in geo-routing issues that have impacted our nation’s American Poison Centers and their ability to respond to poison-related emergencies.

“It has come to our attention that the American Poison Centers, tasked with the responsibility of fielding calls from individuals who are currently experiencing poison and toxin-related health emergencies, have faced challenges ensuring that calls are being fielded to the correct poison center location,” the lawmakers said. “Incorrectly routed calls can create a dangerous and life-threatening situation, particularly in scenarios where location-specific concerns require environmental knowledge specialists. By ensuring that calls are correctly routed to the closest poison control center, there is a higher confidence that accurate information is being relayed to the caller.” 

A study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine showed that, between 2007 and 2021 the number of calls about intentional exposures that resulted in death among adults increased 233.9%.  

“By ensuring that calls are correctly routed to the closest poison control center, there is a higher confidence that accurate information is being relayed to the caller,” the lawmakers continued. “The importance of addressing these issues is paramount in continuing to ensure the safety of our communities and providing Americans this essential service.” 

The letter requests HRSA facilitate routing calls to the poison centers by location rather than by area code. 

Full text of the letter is below: 

Director Kinsman,  

We are writing to express concerns over the recent uptick in geo-routing issues1 that have impacted our nation’s American Poison Centers and their ability to respond to poison-related emergencies and to ask for your urgent attention to address these concerns. We are grateful for the work that the Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA) does to ensure the health and safety of the American people. We are keenly aware that the work HRSA does is instrumental in protecting the well-being of our communities.

However, it has come to our attention that the American Poison Centers, tasked with the responsibility of fielding calls from individuals who are currently experiencing poison and toxin-related health emergencies, have faced challenges ensuring that calls are being fielded to the correct poison center location. Given the recent data which indicate that these centers are receiving a higher volume of calls about severe cases that are more likely to lead to severe harm or death,2 it is more important than ever that these calls are being routed to the correct poison center. Incorrectly routed calls can create a dangerous and life-threatening situation, particularly in scenarios where location-specific concerns require environmental knowledge specialists. By ensuring that calls are correctly routed to the closest poison control center, there is a higher confidence that accurate information is being relayed to the caller. The importance of addressing these issues is paramount in continuing to ensure the safety of our communities and providing Americans this essential service.  

America’s Poison Centers represent the 55 Poison Centers nationwide to prevent poisoning and toxin-related health emergencies. They provide Americans with expert advice from nationally accredited medical specialists, and the work they do is life-saving. America’s Poison Center expressed that they are actively working on address geo-routing issues with your office. Specifically, we request that HRSA works to help facilitate that calls which are being routed to the poison centers are routed based on location rather than by area code.   

We want to express our support for HRSA, and we welcome opportunities to engage with your team and America’s Poison Centers to address this going forward.  

We thank you for your attention to this pressing matter and look forward to your response. 

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