Her Poison Pen Is Kind Indeed
By Christine Stutz, as published in Capsule, Spring 2026
As public education and communications manager for the Maryland Poison Center (MPC) at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Emily Paterson, MPH, CHES, educates the public about poisons in their environment, how to prevent poisonings, and the services of the MPC.
With 6.3 million Maryland residents and only two people on the MPC’s public education and communications team, Paterson maximizes her impact through social media, webinars, and community partnerships to spread the MPC’s poisoning prevention and awareness messages. She also trains medical professionals and large groups — at health fairs and other community events — to spread the information as widely as possible.
“Building partnerships is very important for us,” she says. “[Partner organizations] have the time and the bond in the community to impart this information.”
One of those important partnerships, Paterson says, is Safe Kids Carroll County, a program of the Carroll County Health Department, which always includes MPC materials and messaging. “We have trained their educators in half-day ‘train the trainer’ events,” she says, touching on topics such as poisoning risk factors for different age groups.
At a recent Safe Kids Day, the MPC hosted a table with coloring sheets and fun activities to teach children and their families about poison prevention. Through Paterson, the MPC also participates in an annual health fair for students and employees at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. “It’s nice to be in that community setting,” she says, “because people feel like they can talk to you and ask questions that they may be too scared to call about.”
Paterson “works smarter,” says Angel Bivens, BS Pharm, MBA, CSPI, managing director of the MPC. “She understands the ways that the MPC fits into public health organizations around the state and that these partnerships are an important way to reach [many] people.”
Since 1972, the MPC has served as an essential health care resource, providing 24/7 expert guidance to Marylanders, and now Washington, D.C., through its 1-800 helpline. Pharmacists and nurses respond to callers dealing with poisoning emergencies and questions. In 2024, the MPC managed more than 37,000 cases, including almost 30,000 human exposures and about 7,000 requests for information.
In April 2025, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties and the District of Columbia were added to the MPC’s service area. Social media trends and changes in federal and state policies and laws, like the legalization of recreational cannabis in Maryland, also increase call volume, widening the demand for Paterson’s community outreach.
Her social media expertise allows the MPC to reach thousands with a single message. She manages the MPC’s Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube accounts and she writes a blog and bimonthly newsletter, Poison Prevention Press.
To reach older Marylanders, Paterson trains student ambassadors from the School of Pharmacy to take the MPC’s knowledge to senior centers, where they stress the importance of careful tracking of the seniors’ medications.
A swim instructor in her youth, with a passion for health literacy, Paterson gravitated to community health education to have “the best of both worlds,” she says. She received a BS in Community Health at Salisbury University before earning her Master of Public Health from the University of Maryland, College Park.
A Certified Health Education Specialist, Paterson is the current past co-chair of the Educators Advisory Council for America’s Poison Centers and a board member and education and training liaison for the Partnership for a Safer Maryland.
After seven years at the MPC, Paterson says her work is very fulfilling. “I enjoy making a difference in the community by educating people about poison prevention and awareness of the services we provide,” she says. “With such a diverse population, it’s important to reach people where they are.”
Bivens praises Paterson’s ability to speak in plain language to help eliminate medical jargon in the Maryland Poison Center’s messaging.
“She takes very complicated topics and makes them understandable, without making it simplistic,” says Bivens. “She’s a very gifted communicator.”