Installation of Unused Medication Receptacles at Premier Health Hospitals
More than 70 percent of people using opioids for nonmedical reasons get them from family and friends, according to the American Medical Association.
As part of our health system’s ongoing commitment to address opioid addiction in the communities that we serve, Premier Health is making it more convenient for employees and residents to safely dispose of unused medications at any time at several Premier Health sites.
The receptacles will be available around-the-clock at the following locations:
- Atrium Medical Center: front lobby beside gift shop
- Good Samaritan North Health Center (Miami Valley Hospital North as of July 23, 2018): lobby beside retail pharmacy
- Miami Valley Hospital: beside the Apple Street elevators (first floor)
- Miami Valley Hospital South: bed tower lobby outside maternity center entrance
- Upper Valley Medical Center: at the foot of the main staircase in the hospital lobby
A receptacle will not be installed at Good Samaritan Hospital’s (closed in 2018) Philadelphia Drive campus during the remainder of its operations. A receptacle also has not been placed at the Premier Health Center at 110 N. Main St. in Dayton, which does not have the required terminal distributor and Drug Enforcement Administration licenses.
We recommend that you place your unused medication in plastic baggies instead of bottles. The unused drugs will be incinerated in an environmentally appropriate manner. It is not appropriate to use the receptacles to dispose of needles, syringes, aerosolized cans, inhalers, thermometers, lotions, or liquids.
Our gratitude goes out to PNC Foundation, which provided the grant that funded the receptacles through Premier Health’s foundations. Learn more about efforts to address the epidemic of addiction in our community at opioidassist.com, a website operated by Premier Health.
Back to the April 2018 issue of Premier Pulse
