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Gov. Bill Lee has proposed that the state cover the funding loss to the Tennessee Poison Center after a Trump administration grant cut. 

The state poison center is a call center at Vanderbilt University that provides free emergency poison information to the public, often providing advice to parents on whether they should take a child to the emergency room when they consume something by accident.  

The center receives over 50,000 calls per year and estimates that it saved taxpayers $44.6 million in 2024 by preventing unnecessary emergency room visits for the underinsured, according to its annual report.

The center also serves as a surge capacity backup call center for the state Department of Health in the event of a public health emergency.

In 2025, the center received a $475,000 grant from the federal Poison Control Stabilization and Enhancement Program, but that funding was cut this year as part of a swath of public health grants axed by the Trump administration. 

Lee included funding for the center in his annual budget amendment. The new spending proposal still has to be approved by state lawmakers before the end of the legislative session, which is likely to conclude in April. Lee’s inclusion of the funding doesn’t guarantee its passage, but it is a strong indicator that the center will receive the replacement funds. 

Poison centers across the country are funded differently, but Washington, D.C. closed its call center last year “due to inadequate governmental funding” and replaced it with an automated response system. 

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