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19 Effective Date: July 1, 2009

Approval Date: Consumer-based educational materials have been developed that are culturally relevant, taking into consideration health literacy levels and clearly illustrating and describing WAPC services. In addition to English, materials are available in Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Laotian, Chinese, Russian, and Somali.

The WAPC promotes poison awareness through community forums. WAPC’s mascot “Mr. Yuk” is a familiar face at presentations in schools, community health fairs, and other local events and gatherings. The WAPC works closely with other community health programs such as Washington State’s Safe Kids Program and Safe Kids Coalition groups. The WAPC advertises their public toll-free number and toll-free TTY number in the white pages and consumer guides of all Washington state telephone directories, as well as on billboards across the state. Advertisements and billboards are in Spanish and English. The WAPC receives approximately 66,000 calls annually involving a poison or hazardous substance exposure. 63% of all calls received are regarding exposure of child under the age of 19. Over 35% of the total calls relate to exposure of a child in a family whose annual household income is no more than 300% FPL.4 WAPC intervention resulted in over 94% these exposures calls being handled in the home so that the child did not have to use an Emergency Department or need a 911 call and response. Each call to the WAPC significantly reduces costs in other medical spending. Cost savings in 1996 dollars were estimated at $175 per call.5 3.2. Describe the utilization controls under the child health assistance provided

4 The percentage of calls attributed to children in families with incomes no greater than 300% FPL is based on WAPC records for 2009. 66,083 total exposure calls were answered statewide. 41,827 exposure calls were for children ages 0 – 18. 2008 Washington State Population Survey (http://wa-state-ofm.us/SPSOnline/) estimates 55.5% of Washington children are living in households with incomes no more than 300%FPL. This represents 23,214 calls, or 35.1% of the total volume of calls. 5 Miller T.R. & Lestina, D.C. (1997). Costs of Poisoning in the United States and Savings from Poison Control Centers: A Benefit-Cost Analysis. Annuals of Emergency Medicine, 29(2), 239-45.