Norton Children’s provides toxicology care for infants, children and teens with acute and chronic poison exposure. We provide emergency consultations for potential poison exposures, including ingestion, overdose and environmental exposures.

The Kentucky Poison Control Center of Norton Children’s Hospital

Norton Children’s Hospital supports the Kentucky Poison Control Center. Established in 1954 as the third poison control center in the U.S., the Kentucky Poison Control Center continues as an affiliate of Norton Children’s Hospital and is accredited as one of 55 regional poison control centers in the U.S.

The poison center, located on our downtown campus, serves all 120 counties in Kentucky and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls to the poison control center are free and confidential.

Our physicians are board certified in medical toxicology, and our nurses are nationally certified specialists in poison information.

People of all ages call the poison control center — although the majority of calls (52.5%) are concerning children ages 5 and younger. This service helps community members determine if a poisoning exposure requires treatment at a health care facility. More than 75% of calls received can be managed without a visit to a hospital emergency room. The Kentucky Poison Control Center also assists health care providers treating patients exposed to various poisons.

Kentucky Poison Control Center Services

The Kentucky Poison Control Center is the commonwealth’s only hotline staffed 24/7 by nationally board-certified health care providers able to rapidly handle emergencies requiring immediate medical care. In addition, we provide:

• Identification of pills for law enforcement officers, individuals and parents
• On-site toxicology education of medical professionals/students, residents and fellows from throughout Kentucky
• The only near real-time medical database in the U.S., monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for detection of outbreaks and exposures to biological, chemical or radiological weapons
• Public education on poison prevention and surveillance, and warning of poisoning alerts affecting residents
• Surveillance of drug abuse and addiction trends and management of poisoning from these substances
• Partnership with Kentucky Department for Public Health to track food poisoning, workplace injuries and other significant outbreaks in the commonwealth

The Norton Children’s Difference

With a 125-year presence in Louisville, Norton Children’s is a leader in pediatric care across Kentucky and Southern Indiana, providing an expanded footprint that includes:

• Norton Children’s Hospital – The region’s only full-service, free-standing pediatric hospital and Louisville’s only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center. Norton Children’s Hospital also has one of the largest Level IV (highest level) neonatal intensive care units in the country.
• Numerous regional outpatient centers and extensive pediatrician and pediatric specialist offices throughout the area.
• Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital – The only women’s hospital in Louisville, providing care dedicated to the needs of women and children.
• Norton Children’s Medical Center – A unique regional outpatient facility designed “Just for Kids,” bringing pediatric care to northeastern Jefferson County and the surrounding area.

Norton Children’s Offers Specialized Programs and Services, Including:

• Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, and the Addison Jo Blair Cancer Care Center, which is one of the oldest oncology programs continuously accredited by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer.
• Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, a pioneer in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery. Norton Children’s heart transplant surgeons performed Kentucky’s first heart transplant in a newborn in 1986, making the hospital the second site in the United States for infant transplants. Norton Children’s Hospital is home to the Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
• Pediatric neurology and neurosurgery, including a Level 4 epilepsy center
• Orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation
• The Wendy Novak Diabetes Center