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1100 pounds of medication collected during DEA Drug Take Back Day

Six hospitals helped to "Crush the Crisis" during the most recent National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

November 09, 2023
A hospital staff member hands a bag of old medication to a police officer.

Dallas, Texas — Six Medical City Healthcare hospitals helped collect 1100 pounds of medication during its fourth annual drug take back events on Oct. 28. Part of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, the events help raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug misuse and the importance of proper disposal of medications.

Law enforcement officers from the Arlington, Dallas, Denton, Frisco and Irving Police Departments collected unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications at five Medical City Healthcare hospitals and the McKinney Police Department. In 2022, there were more than 109,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an increase from 2021.

Medical City Healthcare participated in the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day as part of its and HCA Healthcare’s year-round “Crush the Crisis” drug take back program. In October 2023, all 15 HCA Healthcare U.S. divisions hosted events at 138 collection sites across 15 states. As a part of HCA Healthcare, Medical City Healthcare uses the science of “big data” to reduce prescription drug misuse and transform pain management, with initiatives in surgical, emergency and other care settings, including:

  • Enhanced Surgical Recovery (ESR): a multi-modal approach to pain management using pre-, intra- and post-operative interventions to optimize outcomes. HCA Healthcare’s ESR programs have demonstrated significant improvements in surgical recovery and patient satisfaction, including an up to 44% decrease in opioid usage for some surgeries.
  • Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS): aims to stem increasing rates of prescription pain reliever-related addiction, misuse diversion and death by making it more difficult for medication-seekers to doctor-shop and alter prescriptions. Physicians have access to aggregated electronic health records, providing data that will allow them to prescribe opioids judiciously.

Learn more about Medical City Healthcare’s efforts to “Crush the Crisis” on opioids and drug misuse and abuse, which includes permanent drug take back boxes at 12 hospitals.

Hospital staff and police officers smile while standing next to a medication drop box.
Hospital staff and police officers smile while standing outside of the hospital in the rain, wearing orange and black rain jackets and holding umbrellas.
Hospital staff and police officers smile while standing next to medication drop boxes.
Hospital staff and police officers hold up their arms, flexing their biceps, during a medication donation event.

Published:
November 09, 2023
Location:
Medical City McKinney, Medical City Dallas, Medical City Frisco, Medical City Denton, Medical City Las Colinas

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