Colleton Medical Center will partner with local law enforcement agencies to host a Crush the Crisis opioid take-back event in conjunction with the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 24, sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The event will be held as a drive-through event in the front parking lot of Colleton Medical Center from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Since the pandemic began, 40 states have reported increases in opioid-related mortality, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). “We know that a significant number of opioid addictions and overdose deaths come from individuals accessing unused opioid prescriptions of family and friends,” said Greg Hiser, PharmD. “The goal of our annual take-back event is to educate the community on the risk of opioid misuse, while providing a safe and anonymous way to dispose of leftover medications.”
Keeping the unused pain medicine from past surgeries or procedures around the house is not safe. That’s why Colleton Medical Center is partnering with the Walterboro Police Department and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, who will be onsite at each take-back location to safely collect unused and expired prescription medications. All medication collections will be made anonymously.
More than half of people who misuse opioid medications say they stole them from someone they know. In the past year, two-thirds of teens who misused pain relievers reported that they got them from family, friends and the home medicine cabinet. And every minute of every day, a poison control center answers a call about a young child who has accidentally ingested a medication.
The safest and most responsible option to dispose of medication is to take unwanted medications to a drug take-back site or event. Unused opioids thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or sold illegally and flushing medications down the toilet poses a potentially health and environmental hazard.
Medications
Accepted
Tablets, capsules and patches of hydrocodone (Norco, Lortab, Vicodin), oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet), tramadol (Ultram), codeine, fentanyl (Duragesic), morphine, hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and oxymorphone (Opana). No needles, syringes, lancets or liquids will be collected.
“Colleton Medical Center is committed to bringing frontline solutions to curb the tide of opioid misuse and addiction in the communities that we serve,” said Jimmy Hiott, CEO. “COVID-19 has exacerbated the opioid epidemic, and the effort to crush the crisis is now more important than ever.”
To find a nearby Crush the Crisis collection site go to hcahealthcare.com/crushthecrisis or by call the toll free number (833) 582-1970.
