Press Release
March 7, 2007
Contact: Kaylyn Kendall Dines
Phone: (973) 972-3000
dineskd@umdnj.edu
N.J. Youth to Receive Rewards for
Winning Poison Prevention Poster Competition
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NEWARK — National Poison Prevention Week will be held from March 18 to March 24 and the theme is “Children Act Fast…So Do Poisons.” One week before the observance, administrators at the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES), will host an awards ceremony to recognize the three elementary school students for being winners in a poster prevention contest.
The ceremony will be held on Monday, March 12, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the NJPIES, which is located at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 140 Bergen Street, Suite G1600, in Newark.
The following winners were selected from more than 750 entries that were submitted by students at 40 elementary schools throughout the state.
1st Place - Jared DeLibero, Haworth Public School, Haworth, NJ
2nd Place - David Londino, Bowne-Munro School, East Brunswick, NJ
3rd Place -Tomas Carson, Margaret L. Vetter Elementary School, Eatontown, NJ
The contest was established 15 years ago as part of a year-round effort to educate the community, especially youth, about ways to prevent poisonings which often occur from carbon monoxide, medications, or household chemicals.
“According to the Poison Prevention Week Council, nationally, more two million poisonings are reported each year to more than 60 Poison Control Centers. More than 90 percent of these poisonings occur in the home with the majority of the non-fatal poisonings occurring in children under age six,” said Alicia Gambino, director of public education at the NJPIES. “Children act fast so it is important that adults store items like household cleaners and medicines in locked cabinets in an area that is out of a child ’s r each. In fact, approximately one million children are exposed to poisonous products each year.”
Poison centers aim to help eliminate thousands of needless and costly emergency room visits by offering free and confidential emergency poison consultation to callers of its hotline, 1-800-222-1222. Physicians, pharmacists and nurses will provide emergency treatment advice and answer drug or poison information questions.
“When you or someone you know has a poison emergency, remember help is just a phone call away. Call a poison specialist at the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System Hotline at 1-800-222-1222,” said Alicia Gambino, director of public education at NJPIES. “We invite you to visit www.njpies.org for information on becoming actively involved in ensuring the safety of children and adults in your home and your community.”
UMDNJ is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and a school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.
