Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s emergency department is committed to optimizing care for all victims of poisoning.  With Mark B. Mycyk MD as the Director of Clinical Toxicology and Toxicologic Research, Northwestern Memorial Hospital is one of only three hospitals in Chicago to have a full-time board-certified medical toxicologist working in the emergency department. 

Rapid and prioritized care of all poisonings has been shown to improve outcomes and reduce hospital stays.  Under Mycyk’s direction, the emergency department’s attention to acutely poisoned patients has improved significantly.  Efforts credited with improving poisoning outcomes at NMH include his availability to the emergency department staff 24 hours a day 7 days a week for consultation and direct treatment in any case of suspected poisoning; active utilization of the EDOU for low-risk poisoned patients; frequent educational seminars with the faculty, resident, and nursing staff of the emergency department; multidisciplinary collaboration with NMH’s critical care, hepatology, neurology, and rehabilitaion departments in cases of severe poisoning; and his partnership with the NMH pharmacy to ensure adequate and rapid antidotal delivery whenever needed.  The NMH emergency department has also become the city’s referral center for exotic animal envenomations from Lincoln Park Zoo and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.