Countywide : Aid Sought to Save Poison Control Unit

Health officials will meet with state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) on Friday to discuss ways to keep Orange County’s only poison-control center open.

UCI Medical Center in Orange will close its poison-control center that day, a move health officials fear will strain already overburdened emergency medical services and lead to potentially fatal delays.

In an attempt to save the 14-year-old center, Bergeson will host a meeting at the United Way in Irvine from 2:30 to 4 p.m. to discuss options.

“This is a program that would be entirely supported by the county,” Bergeson said. “It would cause a real void if it closed.”

UCI officials described the decision to close the center as a painful one forced by economics. The poison-control center costs about $800,000 a year to operate, and only $300,000 comes from the state. The rest comes from the hospital’s operating budget.

Physicians at the Department of Pediatrics at UCI have begun a campaign to raise the $500,000 needed to keep the service going.

“Checks are starting to come in,” said Ira T. Lott, chairman of the department of pediatrics. “But it’s just a few thousand. We’re hoping to get public response.”

The center serves five counties--Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Inyo and Mono--and receives more than 51,000 requests for help a year, mostly on behalf of children, Lott said.

Lott said the center is a source for people during outbreaks of bacterial poisonings, chemical spills and daily misadventures.

“Closing it will be very detrimental to the children,” he said.

Donations may be sent to: The Poison Control Center Fund/COMF, Department of Pediatrics, UCI Medical Center, P.O. Box 14091, Orange, CA, 92613-4091.