National Capital Poison Center

Founded in 1980, the National Capital Poison Center (NCPC) is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization affiliated with The George Washington University. NCPC is one of the nation's 55 poison control centers that comprise "Poison Control" in the United States. Poison Control is the ultimate source of public-facing, evidence-based, medically accurate information about the effects of drugs, medicines, and other potentially harmful substances on human health. Staffed and overseen by certified medical toxicologists, NCPC prevents poisonings, saves lives, and limits poisoning injury by providing free, expert guidance online or by phone, 24/7. In addition, NCPC provides poisoning prevention education, hazard detection and elimination through epidemiological poisoning surveillance, professional education in state-of-the-art treatment of poisonings, and health care cost-containment. In short, NCPC is dedicated to improving the public’s safety through an unrelenting search for hazards, aggressive advocacy of hazard elimination, effective poisoning prevention public education, and successful collaborations with community and public health partners.