Poison Center (Childrens Hospital)

Options: Vision, Mission and/or Purpose of Organization

The Pittsburgh Poison Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC was founded in 1971 to address the alarming number of poisonings that involved children in the Pittsburgh region. The Center served southwestern Pennsylvania initially, but soon took a national leadership role among poison centers. By 1978, there were 661 poison centers in the U.S. and there was little consistency between and among the centers. For that reason, the Pittsburgh Poison Center developed the National Poison Center Network (NPCN). It established the first quality standards among poison centers, and a network of regional and satellite poison centers throughout the United States. The pioneering work that was done by the Pittsburgh Poison Center in the 70s helped to provide a foundation for the current network of centers throughout the U.S.