A Poison Prevention Class will be held at the Ainsworth Public Library on March 12th from 4-5 p.m. for children to learn what poison is and how to protect themselves. This class will be open to the young children in our area from the preschool age to second grade.
Pinky the Elephant will help guide the children on lessons of what is a poison; medicine safety, and where do you find poison. A color book in Spanish and English featuring Pinky will be given to the children along with other educational materials to take home for the parents/guardians.
More than two million poisonings are reported each year to poison control centers throughout the United States. Ninety percent of poisonings occur at home and at least fifty percent involve children under the age of six. Most of the cases, however, were safely managed at home and did not require an emergency room visit. The Nebraska Regional Poison Center provided the material for the Library to use in this poison prevention class. The Nebraska Regional Poison Center is one of 55 poison centers in America. The center is staffed with experts in poison information 24-7-365. When someone calls the poison center, they speak immediately and directly with a registered nurse specialist who will quickly and efficiently assess the situation and give recommendations for treatment according to the toxicity of the substance. A call to the poison center can prevent many expensive and unnecessary trips to emergency rooms every year. This is a free and confidential service available to everyone. The Library will be handing out magnets with the Poison Control phone number.
