Illinois Poison Center Faces Shut Down

We love our children more than life itself, and do everything we can to protect them. It’s important to parents to have emergency services if ever there is an accident that needs prompt medical attention. Imagine waking up at the same time you do every morning. You then go into your toddlers room to get them up as you always do as well.  Only to find they are not in their bedroom. So you immediately search your home and find your child in the kitchen has been playing with and drinking kitchen cleaner or some other dangerous product. You immediately call poison control and find out if the cleaner is  harmful enough to hurt your child. They will let you know, tell you what to do next and if this is bad enough that you need to rush to the ER. Well imagine if your state did not have Poison Control, that’s what Illinois residents will be faced with very soon if we don’t do something.

The Illinois Poison Center is a non-profit health service which provides Illinois residents with access to important, needed information and treatment advice on potentially harmful substances for free to the public. All residents can call their confidential 24-hour hotline anytime they need to. The hotline is always staffed by specially trained medical experts, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists to help you.

Unfortunately the Illinois Poison Center is set to close their doors on July 1, 2014, This will make Illinois the only state without Poison Control Services. This a scary thought for parents. But doors will stay open if the legislature acts to provide a sustainable, long-term funding source for the IPC. The Senate has passed the ‘2 Cent Solution” and the bill is waiting action in the state house. 

The bill to save the Illinois Poison Center passed the Senate earlier this month on with a 43-13. Now it is up to the Illinois House to pass the bill and save the IPC. Please call your State Representative today and tell them to tell House Leadership to support ’2 Cent Solution’ to save the IPC and bring it to a vote. Take a moment now and fill out this form www.SavetheIPC.com to save the ICP.

 

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