Poison control center in Mineola to close

Budget cuts will force the closure Friday of Long Island's regional poison center, which services Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, state officials said.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, all calls to the Long Island Regional Poison & Drug Information Center, previously serviced around the clock by a 15-person staff of doctors and nurses at Winthrop-University Hospital, will be transferred to Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan.

The Mineola facility handled 50,000 calls annually, which will be added to Bellevue's 70,000 annual calls.

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Ed Keating, a spokesman for Winthrop, said the closing, which was prompted by a 50 percent cut to statewide poison-control centers, was troubling. "It's more than the local expertise that is lost, Keating said. "Our staff works with schools and organizations across Long Island on prevention and education programs; that won't continue."

State Sen. Kemp Hannon of Garden City, the top Republican on the Health Committee, said he will try to restore funding for the state's poison-control centers, or at least move the downstate facility to Mineola.

"These professionals have years of experience and familiarity with Long Island that is, in many respects, irreplaceable," Hannon said.

Poison centers in Rochester and Buffalo will also close Friday, transferring their calls to the center in Syracuse.

Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, defended the cuts, saying residents would not notice the change.

"The two poison-control centers will provide the same services at a reduced cost, and isn't that what government is supposed to be doing on behalf of taxpayers?" he said.

Staff has spent the past few days transferring data on past calls and other information to Bellevue, Keating said.

The New York City Health Department said staffing at the Bellevue Hospital poison-control center is being increased to handle the expected boost in call volume.

Gov. David A. Paterson proposed the cuts to state poison-control centers earlier this year, and they were passed by the Legislature as part of an emergency budget measure. The state previously budgeted $5 million for the centers but cut that figure in half for 2011.

Jessica Wehrman, spokeswoman for the American Association of Poison Control Centers, questioned the wisdom of cutting funding for centers for budgetary reasons.

"It always seems strange when a poison center gets cut, because they save money," Wehrman said. "They are probably one of the most effective services in health care."