University opens toxicology center

The University Health System has opened the Center for Clinical Toxicology, the only center of its kind in the state. A joint effort of the emergency medicine department and the Health System, the center houses clinical, research and educational programs related to toxicological emergencies and occupational poisons. With its 24-hour physician coverage, the center has a goal of offering its services to communities where toxicological emergency care may not be available.

Medical toxicology is a specialty area that allows for the identification and treatment of chemical-induced disease, environmental and hazardous material exposures, and other toxicological emergencies. It is linked with poison centers, emergency departments, physicians and public health departments throughout the state.

Two medical toxicologists at U.Va. will staff the center. Dr. Christopher Holstege, director of the Division of Medical Toxicology, and Dr. Mark Kirk, director of the medical toxicology fellowship program and associate medical director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center at the U.Va. Health System, are the only two toxicologists practicing medical toxicology full-time in Virginia.