Pump Up Efforts During National Poison Prevention Week
March 19-25, 2006

Last year, the Illinois Poison Center hot line handled more than 93,000 calls; more than 80,000 of those calls came from the public and health care professionals regarding exposures to household chemicals, herbal products, food poisoning, medication errors and more. Local communities throughout the state benefit from continued education about poison safety and prevention, education that is carried out through the IPC’s innovative outreach program that has grown over the past several years. In fact, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, the IPC has expanded its reach to nearly every corner of the state. As National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW) 2006 nears, the IPC encourages its educators to build on their outreach efforts. Use this list as a guide for activities to help reinforce poison safety during NPPW as well as throughout the 2006:

Partner with Other Organizations:
· Participate in the story time outreach program. This year, the IPC developed a special partnership with public libraries to help educate children and their parents about poison safety through story time activities. Educators can use materials in a tool kit created as part of the initiative in outreach activities with schools, day care centers and community groups. Download the materials including a story guide based upon the book Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do, educational games and craft ideas from the IPC’s Education Resource Center at www.IllinoisPoisonCenter.org/outreach.

· Contact local community organizations, especially those that have health and safety as part of their mission, and offer to conduct a presentation about poison safety during the week. Or simply share poison prevention materials for these groups to distribute to their communities.

· Coordinate and/or attend events such as health fairs, school assemblies, parent-teacher conferences, community group meetings, church socials and corporate functions. Make sure to bring appropriate poison education materials to the events.

· Contact local businesses, including schools, day care centers, public transportation agencies, community centers, pharmacies, grocery stores, sports arenas, movie theaters and local malls to ask if you can display poison prevention information in their facilities.

Promote National Poison Prevention Week within Your Organization:
· Post poison prevention information (brochures, magnets, stickers) in the hallways, bathrooms and kiosks at your workplace

· Work with the human resources department to include an IPC sticker in the payroll envelopes for that week. The sticker displays the 24-hour hot line number for the poison center.

· Post a link on your organization’s Web site to the Illinois Poison Center’s Web site, www.IllinoisPoisonCenter.org

· Place the following message at the end of every e-mail you send during NPPW:

It’s National Poison Prevention Week! Remember to put all potential poisons up high and out of children’s sight and reach. If you have a question or concern, call the Illinois Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.

· Promote the free online educator training by sending an e-mail to all of your contacts with a link to the training program:

www.IllinoisPoisonCenter.org/outreach.

The Illinois Poison Center values your involvement and relies on its community partners and educators to help spread messages of poison safety during NPPW. Don’t forget to report your events to the IPC education and outreach staff. Upload your information through the education resource center at www.IllinoisPoisonCenter.org/outreach.

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