SALT LAKE CITY — Too much funding has been cut and they desperately need more state money, that’s the message the Utah Poison Control Center tried to send to the legislature today when they arrived at the Utah State Capitol.
The UPCC lost some of it’s funding in 2014 when the legislature moved its money to another group. Now it is asking for 535 thousand dollars to make up the gap that funding cut left behind.
“We were cut and we were cut a little too far,” said Barabara Crouch, Executive Director of the UPCC. “We can’t continue to operate without that additional funding.”
Crouch said they’ve cut back on everything possible, but 90 percent of the center is personnell and they need the man power to keep the phone lines open 24/7.
“We can’t go any further,” she said.
If the legislature is not able to find the funding for the center Crouch said it will be up to the state to decide what part of the center they are willing to sacrifice.