This is my annual Poison Prevention episode. The topic this year is Poison Prevention in Older Adults. My guests are poison prevention educators Angel Bivens, RPh (Maryland Poison Center) and Dr. Wendy Stephan (Florida Poison Information Center – Miami, Florida).
National Poison Prevention Week (in the United States) is March 16-22, 2025. The theme is, “When the unexpected happens, Poison Help is here for you.” America’s Poison Centers and The Poison Help Line serve everyone in the US, especially vulnerable populations, like older adults.
The Poison Help Line number is 1-800-222-1222. Program it in your phone today, and share it with your patients, colleagues, friends, and family.
America’s Poison Centers and The Poison Help Line are valuable resources that are supported (in part) by federal funds. Thank you, Poison Centers and Poison Help Line Workers, for the important work you do!
During our conversation today, Angel and Wendy…
- Define “older adults”
- Provide stats on United States poisonings [in older adults]
- Give examples of poisonings [among older adults]
- Discuss risk factors for poisonings [in older adults]
- Offer strategies to prevent poisonings [in older adults], including promoting the Poison Help Line as a resource
- Explain what pharmacists can do to help prevent poisonings in older adults
- Tell you when to call The Poison Help Line
- (and more!)
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Mentioned in this episode
The Poison Help Line 1-800-222-1222
Bio – Wendy Stephan, PhD (March 2025)
Dr. Wendy Stephan is the educator and epidemiologist for the Florida Poison Information Center in Miami. For the last 18 years, Wendy has promoted the use of poison control and worked to prevent poisonings of all kinds, including from medication, household chemicals, and environmental hazards. Wendy completed her PhD in Epidemiology and her Master of Public Health degree at the University of Miami and currently serves on the Board of Directors of America’s Poison Centers.
Website www.floridapoisoncontrol.org
LinkedIn for Wendy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-s-315b70178/
The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 27 featuring Dr. Wendy Stephan (July 2020)
The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episodes 203, 204, 205, 206, and 207 (March 2023)
The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 268 featuring Dr. Wendy Stephan (March 2024)
Email: wstephan@med.miami.edu
X (Twitter): @floridapoison https://x.com/FloridaPoison
Instagram @floridapoisoncontrol https://www.instagram.com/floridapoisoncontrol/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FloridasPCC/
Poison Help Line (Poison Control) 1-800-222-1222
poisoncenter@fpicn.org = Florida’s Poison Information Center educators or call 1-800-222-1222.
Bio – Angel Bivens, RPh (March 2025)
Angel Bivens is a pharmacist by training with experience in retail, hospital, home infusion, and mail order pharmacy, but her true passion is working at the Maryland Poison Center (MPC). She has been with the MPC for over 25 years, spending the first 8 years as a specialist in poison information managing poisoning and overdose cases from the public and healthcare professionals. She then spent the next 17 years in the role of public education coordinator, ensuring the more than 4 million Marylanders in the MPC service area know about their services and learn ways to keep their families safe from poison dangers in an around their home. Angel rose to assistant director, overseeing operations and public education in 2018. In this role she combines her love for educating the public with responsibilities that ensure there is always someone there to help with a poisoning or overdose 24/7/365. In May 2024, Angel was promoted to Managing Director for The Center.
Angel completed her BS in Pharmacy at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh PA) and her MBA at University of Baltimore (Baltimore MD). She also holds the designation of Certified Specialist in Poison Information (CSPI) after successfully completing the American Association of Poison Control Centers certification examination in 1990, 1998, 2005, 2012, and 2019.
Angel Bivens, RPh on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelbivens/
The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 87 featuring Angel Bivens (March 2021)
The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 141 featuring Angel Bivens (March 2022)
The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episodes 203, 204, 205, 206, and 207 (March 2023)
The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 268 featuring Angel Bivens, RPh (March 2024)
Maryland Poison Center website: https://www.mdpoison.com/
To find your local poison center: https://poisoncenters.org/
Poison Prevention Press: https://www.mdpoison.com/families/pppress.html (One-page, plain language e-newsletter published every other month on varying topics; all current and previous issues available
Poison Prevention Press sign up: http://bit.ly/MPCSignUp)
eAntidote Blog: blog.mdpoison.com
Facebook: MarylandPoisonCenter https://www.facebook.com/MarylandPoisonCenter
X (Twitter): @MDPoisonCtr https://x.com/MDPoisonCtr
X (Twitter): @MPCToxtidbits https://x.com/MPCToxtidbits
Instagram: @MDPoisonCenter https://www.instagram.com/mdpoisoncenter/
YouTube: Maryland Poison Center https://www.youtube.com/@marylandpoisoncenter/videos
Resources with clinical information for pharmacists:
ToxTidbits: http://bit.ly/ToxTidbits (One-page clinical e-newsletter published monthly on various toxicologic topics; all current and previous issues available ToxTidbits sign up: http://bit.ly/TTBSignUp)
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Thank you for listening to episode 321 of The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast. If you know someone who would like this episode, please share it with them!