The numbers are staggering. More than 130 people die every day from an opioid overdose and more than half of the people who misuse these drugs get them or steal them from someone they know. That’s why CMC is looking to #CrushTheCrisis.
On Saturday Sept. 7, Colleton Medical Center will host a drug take-back event. From 10 a.m.-2 p.m. anyone can drop off unneeded or expired medications. With the help of Walterboro Police Department, CMC will make sure these drugs don’t get into the wrong hands.
“Keeping unused opioids around the home is just not safe,” says Dr. Craig Ward, ER physician at Colleton Medical Center. “We want to make sure our friends and neighbors have a place to safely dispose of these very addictive drugs.”
Please drive up to the hospital and the collection site will be located right in front of the building. The collection location will be set up so that people do not have to get out of their cars.
Colleton Medical Center’s event is one of dozens of medication take-back events being held across the country by HCA Healthcare facilities. With 185 hospitals and approximately 2,000 sites of care, HCA Healthcare is committed to curbing the tide of opioid misuse and addiction.
What are opioids?
Opioids are a class of drugs used to treat active and chronic pain and are often prescribed following surgery, injury or for health conditions such as cancer.
• Common types of prescription opioids include oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), codeine, morphine and methadone.
• Other opiates include fentanyl and heroin
Why are opioids addictive?
Opioid medications bind to the areas of the brain that control pain and emotions, driving levels of the feel-good hormone dopamine in the brain’s reward areas and producing an intense feeling of euphoria. As the brain becomes used to the feelings, it often takes more and more of the drug to produce the same levels of pain relief and well-being, leading to dependence and, later, addiction.
