Mission Statement
Providing exceptional patient care while actively advancing our healthcare and public health roles through information, surveillance, education, and research.
Purpose
Created by an act of the Florida Legislature in 1989 (FS 395.1027), in response to the overwhelming need for emergency poison information in the state, the Florida/USVI Poison Information Center/Jacksonville (FPIC/Jax) is part of the Florida Poison Information Center Network, which incorporates poison centers in Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa. Currently, FPIC/Jax receives approximately 160-200 calls each day from Floridians in 42 northern and eastern coastal counties in the state, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are also served by this center.
The Florida/USVI Poison Information Center/Jacksonville provides an invaluable service to the citizens of Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands by offering poison prevention and management information through a nationwide, toll-free hotline accessible by both voice and TTY. Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, calls are answered by specially trained nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, toxicology fellows, and board-certified toxicologists who have computerized access to the latest, in-depth poison assessment and management techniques. The Center is certified as a regional poison control center by the American Association of Poison Control Centers and has been designated by the State Department of Health to serve its assigned geographic area within the State of Florida.
All poison specialists at the Jacksonville center are registered nurses, pharmacists, or physicians, many with emergency medicine or critical care experience. In addition, board-certified toxicologists are available 24 hours per day for consultations with health care professionals. The poison specialists on staff are uniquely trained to assess, triage, and manage poison information and exposure calls. All poison specialists are required to receive certification as “Certified Specialist in Poison Information” (CSPI) by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the national agency that oversees the accreditation of poison centers and the certification of the specialists who manage them.
In an effort to reduce the number of accidental poisonings in the state, FPIC/Jax conducts a full spectrum of poison prevention educational programs for the general public and health care professionals. FPIC/Jax also serves as a teaching facility for clinical and medical toxicology fellowships and facilitates academic rotations for nursing, medical, and pharmacy students, pharmacy, emergency medicine, and other health professional residents in training, pediatric critical care fellows, and pediatric emergency medicine fellows.