Rapides Regional Medical Center is partnering with Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office to host its second “Crush the Crisis” prescription drug take back day on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. Crush the Crisis helps raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of unused or expired medications.
This event coincides with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, and offers the community an opportunity to safely and anonymously dispose of medications before they fall into the wrong hands.
Community members are invited to safely and anonymously dispose of unused or expired prescription or over-the-counter medications between 10:00am and 2:00pm at the Medical Terrace driveway at Rapides Regional.
Last year – for the first time since 2018 – there was a decrease in national drug overdose deaths in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, prescription drug misuse remains a public health crisis in the United States. Last year, Rapides Regional Medical Center and RPSO collected 51 pounds of expired and unused prescription drugs from our community.
“Crush the Crisis prescription take back day is an important day,” said Danielle Bryant, PharmD, Director of Pharmacy at Rapides Regional Medical Center. “By offering a safe and anonymous way to dispose of medications and reducing the risk of misuse and preventing potential harm, we are helping create a healthier environment for the people who live and work in our community.”
Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies will be collecting tablets, capsules and patches of Hydrocodone (Norco, Lortab, Vicodin), Oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet), Tramadol (Ultram), Codeine, Fentanyl (Duragesic), Morphine, Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and Oxymorphone (Opana). Ointments, lotions, drops, liquid medication in leak-proof containers, vape cartridges without batteries and pet medication will also be accepted. Any medications will be accepted; however, needles, syringes, lancets or liquids will not be accepted.
“We are proud to partner once again with Rapides Regional Medical Center,” said Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood. “Our deputies work hard in keeping illegal narcotics out of our community and having a way to address prescription drugs that fall into the wrong hands and cause overdoses and addictions is a force multiplier for our enforcement efforts.”
Last year, Rapides Regional Medical Center’s parent company collected approximately 13,136 pounds, equivalent to 9.02 million doses, of unused and expired prescription medications during “Crush the Crisis” day.