New Hampshire residents are in danger of losing access to their poison center. The State of New Hampshire has informed the Northern New England Poison Center that it no longer has the funds necessary for the center to provide hotline services to the state.
The Associated Press has more (via the Boston Globe):
CONCORD, N.H.—Mothers, doctors, school nurses and others who rely on New Hampshire’s poison control hotline in emergencies will have to turn elsewhere if funding isn’t found to keep the line open after July 1.
Karen Simone, director of the Northern New England Poison Center, said Tuesday that $600,000 is needed to keep the line open in New Hampshire. She said the federal homeland security funding that has been used can no longer be used for the service. She said Vermont and Maine are not affected because those states pay for their hotlines with state or other money.
New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services has told the center it does not have the money.
Simone said hotline supporters are trying to secure funding before July 1, but nothing has materialized.
If you are a New Hampshire resident, please contact your state legislators to let them know how important poison center services are to you. Keep an eye on our blog for more updates on this situation.
