Saint Joseph Mercy Health System to implement Drug Takeback Program for leftover household medications
October 20, 2019
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Laura Blodgett
734-712-4536
Laura.Blodgett@stjoeshealth.org
October 21, 2019
Green receptacles in place at St. Joe's Ann Arbor and Oakland hospitals in time for National Prescription Drug Take-Back day on Oct. 26
CANTON, Mich., Oct. 21, 2019 – Saint Joseph Mercy Health System has established a convenient medication take-back program for easy disposal of leftover, unused and out-of-date prescription and over-the counter medications.
In an effort to help reduce the risk of drugs in the home that can potentially harm children, teens or adults, St. Joe's is setting up a secure, safe drop-off location at each of its five hospitals across metro Detroit.
The large green receptacles are currently in place in or near the main lobby at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, located at 5301 McAuley Dr, in Ypsilanti and St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, at 44405 Woodward Ave. in Pontiac. Receptacles will be placed in St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea, St. Joseph Mercy Livingston, and St. Mary Mercy Livonia in the coming months.
Items accepted include unused or expired prescription medication, over-the-counter medications, and pet medications. Not accepted are illegal drugs, inhalers, lotions/liquids, aerosol cans, thermometers, needles, and hydrogen peroxide.
Unused medications in the home are a source of drug abuse in millions of homes, with the opioid crisis in the United States fueled in part by that availability: More than 83 percent of opioid prescription medications taken by new users are obtained from a friend, relative or others. Overall, 130 Americans die every day from a drug overdose.
“We want to provide our community with a safe, secure opportunity to clean out their medicine cabinets and make their homes and communities safer,” said Dr. Rosalie Tocco-Bradley, Chief Medical Officer, Trinity Health Michigan, parent organization of Saint Joseph Mercy Health System. “Drugs should not be flushed down the toilet as traces can appear in community drinking water. Our drug disposal unit is a great simple solution. Drugs can be dropped into the receptacle with no questions asked.”
Tocco-Bradley explains that this drug takeback program is another element of St. Joe's efforts to reduce opioid use in the communities we serve. Other initiatives include the creation of a Substance Use Disorder multi-disciplinary task force which provides clinician education, screening tools, 24/7 addiction medicine consult availability, guidelines for medication-assisted treatment and caring for IV drug users, multi-modal pain therapy and post-recovery exit strategy for opioid use.
In addition, the DisposeRX kit is available at no cost with opioid prescriptions filled at the retail pharmacies inside each of the hospitals. The DisposeRX solution renders the medication useless and allows it to be discarded in the trash in an environmentally safe manner.
St. Joe's partnered with Inmar to manage this drug takeback program. The company has a long history as the industry leader in handling prescription and over-the-counter drug returns safely, securely and discreetly for major and regional chain drug stores as well as independent pharmacies and hospitals across the U.S.
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About Saint Joseph Mercy Health System
Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) is a health care organization serving seven counties in southeast Michigan including Livingston, Washtenaw, Wayne,
Oakland, Macomb, Jackson, and Lenawee. It includes 537-bed St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, 443-bed St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac, 304-bed St. Mary Mercy Livonia, 136-bed St. Joseph Mercy Livingston in Howell, and 133-bed St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea. Combined, the five hospitals are licensed for 1,553 beds, have five outpatient health centers, six urgent care facilities, more than 25 specialty centers; employ more than 15,300 individuals and have a medical staff of nearly 2,700 physicians. SJMHS has annual operating revenues of about $2 billion and returns about $115 million to its communities annually through charity care and community benefit programs.
SJMHS is a member of Trinity Health, a leading Catholic health care system based in Livonia, Mich. Trinity Health operates in 22 states, employs about 133,000 colleagues, has annual operating revenues of $17.6 billion and assets of about $24.7 billion. Additionally, the organization returns almost $1.1 billion to its communities annually in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs.
For more information on health services offered at Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, please visit www.stjoeshealth.org.