home about About Oklahoma Poison Control Center The Oklahoma Poison Control Center saves lives and saves money The Oklahoma Poison Control Center operates 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. The poison center staffs specially trained licensed pharmacists and nurses who provide emergency poisoning management advice to Oklahoma residents and health care professionals. In 1999, eighty-one percent of poisoning cases were safely managed at home, and therefore did not need to be treated in an expensive emergency room. The Oklahoma Poison Control Center was founded in the 1960s. At that time, a small corner in a laboratory of the State Health Department was the location of the center. The center answered about 500 poison calls in 1962. In 1972, the center operations moved to Pediatric Division of Maternal Child Health Services of Oklahoma State Health Department. The center received almost 10, 000 calls that year, largely from the Oklahoma City area. In 1978, the Oklahoma Poison Control Center operations transferred to Childrens Memorial Hospital. At this time the scope of service increased to cover the entire state with the addition of a toll-free telephone service. Along with their other duties, the pharmacy staff at Childrens Hospital provided 24-hour coverage. Today, the center answers over 50, 000 phone calls a year. Legal recognition of the Oklahoma Poison Control Center did not occur until July 1994 when Oklahoma Poison Control Act was approved by the state legislature. This act also legislatively mandated that The University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy administer all operations of the Oklahoma Poison Control Center in cooperation with The Childrens Hospital of Oklahoma. Emergency poison calls are answered 24-hours a day by pharmacists and nurses intensively trained in clinical toxicology and designated as specialist in poison information. Each poison specialist has access to a variety of resources, including a computer database, that list many products and their ingredients. The Oklahoma Poison Control Center is a certified poison center as independently evaluated by the American Association of Poison Control Centers ( AAPCC ).