In honor of National Poison Prevention Week, March 16-22, 2025, here are 5 ways you can celebrate:
October 15-21, 2023 is National Pharmacy Week. Meet some of our pharmacists.
We’re continuing our celebration of National Pharmacy Week by spotlighting another of our pharmacists, Kevin Allen. Kevin has been a pharmacist for 16 years and has spent the last 4 and a half years at NC Poison Control.
Kevin has a BA in Chemistry with a minor in Biology and a Doctorate in Pharmacy. Kevin says he was drawn to pharmacy because of his love of math and science, but he also likes to interact with people. Pharmacy was a way to accomplish both. Kevin is able to apply his pharmacy knowledge and social skills at NC Poison Control, where he has worked the last 4 and a half years.
“I can really tell the people we help appreciate our advice,” Kevin said. “To hear a worried mom get relief because her child was exposed to something is very rewarding.”
Kevin loves the variety of his job saying, “It’s never the same day twice.” In fact, he tells this story about a case he handled: “One of my first calls was about a little boy who drank a whole glass of water that had a dead mouse floating in it. Mom was worried that the child was going to get the bubonic plague, but he ended up being fine.”
However, Kevin says a tough part of the job is helping to advise on the care of really sick patients. “The biggest challenge is the sick babies. I’m a dad of six children, and I hate seeing any sick children. I will do whatever I can to make sure children stay safe and healthy.”
Kevin points to the expertise and teamwork of NC Poison Control’s clinically diverse staff as a strength of the center. Since pharmacists and nurses both answer the calls and chats, they each bring their perspective, knowledge, and acuity to the job. “I love working with nurses. They have taught me so much about healthcare,” Kevin said. “They have so many strengths and varied experiences that have helped me understand the overall healthcare experience.”
In his time away from work, Kevin enjoys UNC basketball and Atlanta Braves baseball. He and his wife are active with their six children, ages 10-16 years old, and their days are filled with track meets, cheerleading, homework, and walking the dog.
Kevin is most proud of becoming a Certified Specialist in Poison Information (CSPI) at NC Poison Control. Achieving this goal requires managing thousands of poison exposures under the supervision of more experienced specialists and doctors.
“I had to work for at least a year preparing to sit for the exam. The exam was four hours long and covered all different types of toxic substances—chemicals, pesticides, medicines, plants, snakes, spiders, heavy metals (like lead) and even radioactive substances.”
Thank you to Kevin and all the pharmacists at NC Poison Control. We celebrate you!
You may not be aware that both nurses and pharmacists answer the phones and chats at NC Poison Control. We want to introduce you to a few of our pharmacists in celebration of National Pharmacy Week. We appreciate the knowledge and perspective our pharmacists provide as they care for the people who contact NC Poison Control.
Mike Crawford is originally from Jacksonville, Florida, and he’s been working at NC Poison Control for nearly 2 years. In addition to being a PharmD, Mike is also a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) and has Emergency Medicine Pharmacy Certification.
Prior to working at NC Poison Control, Mike spent over three years as an ER pharmacist. “My love of biology and chemistry seemed like a good propeller into pharmacy and allowed me to utilize that knowledge to do some good for people.”
When asked what he likes about working at NC Poison Control, Mike said that the cases here can sometimes mirror what he formerly saw in the ER—and there’s a similar element of surprise because staff never knows what the next call will bring.
“If I could tell the public one thing, it would be that we can save them a visit to the hospital most of the time if they contact us first,” Mike said. “We can give people answers right away, and the hospital will likely call us once they arrive there anyway.”
If Mike wasn’t a pharmacist, he says he’d like to be a professional poker player. Mike and his wife have 4 horses, a mini-donkey, 8 chickens, 4 goats, 2 dogs, and 3 cats. While his BCPS certification is one of his proudest accomplishments, his wife says that getting him to marry her was a pretty special accomplishment, too.
Order an e-cigarette brochure from North Carolina Poison Control
North Carolina Poison Control has a new brochure available to help you navigate some of the information, or misinformation, you may be hearing about e-cigarettes.
The brochure equips you with facts about e-cigarettes and provides tips about how to approach the subject of vaping with the teens in your life. You’ll also find out what to do in the event an e-cigarette poisoning is suspected.
Parents with young children, this brochure is for you, too. Children are at risk for e-cigarette poisoning if they come in contact with e-cigarette products.
Anyone in North Carolina can order a free e-cigarette brochure as a part of our teen pack. Click here to order a teen pack.
You can also click here to download or print the brochure.
