As the warm weather approaches, and we clean out our
homes, now is the time to clear out medicine cabinets and get rid of any and
all old, unused pills. As part of a national campaign, Grinnell Regional
Medical Center and the Grinnell Police Department are partnering to help
dispose of prescription pills safely and correctly. This community initiative
hopes to make homes safer by preventing prescription medication abuse. It also
helps prevent the consumption of expired or inappropriate drugs. Anyone may
bring medications for safe, proper disposal between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on
Saturday, April 27, at the Spring Street side of the Grinnell Public Safety
Building, 1020 Spring St.
“This program reduces the risk of medication errors in
the home as well as reduces risk of medications getting into the hands of
people for which the medicine is not prescribed,” says Corey Wilson, RPh., GRMC
pharmacist. “This is an important public health service for residents. It’s
good for patient safety and it’s good for the environment. We also keep
information confidential so names are not linked to medications.”
To put some perspective on just how much unused
medicine is stored in homes, Americans turned in 552,161 pounds—276 tons—of
prescription drugs during last year’s nationwide initiative. Partaking in this
program will also aid in increasing community awareness regarding the
widespread abuse of prescription drugs that happens across the nation but often
goes unnoticed.
“Nationally, abuse of prescription drugs by our youth
is a continually increasing area of concern for law enforcement, parents, and
society in general. We are trying to make it as convenient as possible for
residents to rid their homes of un-used prescription medications. We are providing curb-side drop off so an
individual may simply drive up and hand the unwanted medications in for
disposal,” explains Fred Foreman, narcotics investigator with the Grinnell
Police Department. “There’s no reporting or inventory taken. It’s anonymous. We
are providing the opportunity and means for anyone to remove unwanted
medications from their home.”
The medications that are brought in during this
one-day national blitz will be incinerated. This is considered the safest
manner to dispose of medications.
GRMC will have two pharmacists available at the
collection as well as Grinnell PD officers Dan Johnson and Rod See. This
program is free.
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