Mon Valley Hospital, Carroll Township police team up for Drug Take Back Day
Monongahela Valley Hospital and the Carroll Township Police Department once again teamed up Oct. 26 for the semi-annual National Drug Take Back Day.
“It was, by far, the largest Drug-Take-Back Day we have had since we began participating in the event many years ago,” said Margaret Brown, PharmD., director of the Pharmacy at Monongahela Valley Hospital.
The collaborative event yielded 25 boxes of prescription and over-the-counter medications that totaled a record 477 pounds, Brown said.
Once the medications were collected, the law enforcement officers sealed the boxes, representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration weighed the boxes and then safely disposed of the contents, Brown said.
“We are amazed that we continue to collect large quantities of drugs from the community at each Drug Take Back event,” she said.
In the spring, Mon Valley Hospital became an authorized Drug-Take-Back site with the installation of a secure receptacle in the Emergency Department’s waiting room. The locked container is accessible 24/7. Use of the receptacle service is free and anonymous.