We’re getting used to this scenario – vital program threatened by budget woes. But in this case it’s a program that has been funded primarily by the private sector: the Oregon Poison Center, which operates out of the Oregon Health Sciences University.

Rather than the private sector coming to the rescue of a publicly-funded program, we’re hoping for the reverse in this instance.

There’s no denying the value of the OPC. It provides a toll-free hotline 24 hours a day, staffed by a professional nurse with constant access to a toxicologist.

Last year the OPC answered about 70,000 calls, the majority from households. In the majority of those cases, the nurse was able to provide information and directions that allowed the emergency to be resolved at home – avoiding an expensive trip to an emergency room.

That saves families money and preserves often overstretched emergency serv ices for true emergencies.

But after July, the hotline will shut down unless other funding can replace the $1.5 million OHSU has been supplying. That sounds like a lot but it’s a bargain for a statewide 24/7 program that is an aid to medical staff as well as individuals and families.

In fact, the OPC is more efficient than most poison centers. The budget cost per call is about $25, compared to $40 nationwide.

It’s a service that’s particularly vital in rural areas like ours, where many people live far from a hospital or doctor’s office. Last year there were 786 calls to the OPC from Umatilla County.

Just over 80 percent of the Umatilla County calls to the OPC were resolved at home.

So, how do we maintain this vital service?

Bill sponsor Rep. Rob Patridge of Medford has a plan, which he has crafted into House Bill 2709. It would authorize a few cents of the 75 cents every Oregon phone line already pays monthly for 9-1-1 service to fund the OPC. Since the 9-1-1 fund has been growing steadily as the number of phone lines increase – the fund increased by $10 million last year – Patridge believes it can continue meeting those needs and also fund the OPC.

That makes sense, because if the OPC closes 9-1-1 calls would surely increase. And passage of HB 2709 would keep OPC open at no in-creased cost to Oregonians.

It’s a plan that makes fiscal sense and deserves support. And that’s what residents in Umatilla and Morrow counties should tell their legislators.