Posted: 10/10/2018
Event provides opportunity for proper disposal of medications
Expired, unused and unwanted medications in our homes can end up in the wrong hands or can leach into soil and water. In an effort to prevent accidents and improper disposal of potentially harmful substances, twice a year Parkland Health & Hospital System and the Dallas County Hospital District Police Department participate in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
This fall’s National Drug Take Back Day event will take place from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 27 at Parkland’s Simmons Ambulatory Surgery Center, 4900 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas 75235. The event is free and open to the public. Other Parkland drop-off sites include:
• Bluitt-Flowers Health Center, 303 E. Overton Road, Dallas 75216
• Southeast Dallas Health Center, 9202 Elam Road, Dallas 75217
• Garland Health Center, 802 Hopkins St., Garland 75040
• Vickery Women’s Health Center, 8224 Park Lane, Ste. 130, Dallas 75231
• deHaro-Saldivar Health Center, 1400 N. Westmoreland Road, Dallas 75211
“Our main goal is to help prevent accidental poisonings, misuse and overdoses by offering convenient places throughout the community for people to drop off medications that are expired or are no longer needed,” said Miranda Skaaning, Parkland Sustainability Manager.
During the April 28 National Drug Take Back Day, Parkland sites received 316 pounds of medications (the Garland Health Center collected 141 pounds alone). Collection sites across Dallas County received a combined total of 6,602 pounds; 82,978 pounds were collected statewide, bringing the grand total to 949,046 pounds collected nationwide.
According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs come from a close source.
“Abused medications are frequently obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet, and their misuse is very dangerous and often tragic,” said Muhammad Nasir, MD, Senior Lead Staff Physician at Parkland’s Bluitt-Flowers Health Center. “That's why it’s important for folks to clean out their medicine cabinets and turn in unneeded or expired medications safely.”
During the event medications can be turned in anonymously. Community members can drive into the parking lot, hand the medications to a law enforcement officer and drive away with no questions asked.
For more information about the proper way to dispose of prescription and over-the-counter medications, contact the poison experts at the North Texas Poison Center at Parkland, 1-800-222-1222 or visit www.poisoncontrol.org.