West Hills, CA, October 2022– West Hills Hospital & Medical Center announced that it is hosting its 2nd “Crush the Crisis” national opioid take back day to raise awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of unused or expired medications, on Saturday, October 29, 2022. The event coincides with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and invites the community to safely dispose of unused or expired medication.
In 2021, there were more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a near 15 percent increase in drug related deaths from 2020.
“Opioid addiction is a national health crisis, and it is imperative that we get unused pain medications out of homes where they can more easily end up in the wrong hands,” said Donald David, MD, chief medical officer of West Hills Hospital. “We invite you to join us for this year’s ‘Crush the Crisis’ to properly dispose of your unused medications and help us in educating the community about the serious threat of opioid misuse.”
Law enforcement officers from the Los Angeles Police Department will be collecting tablets, capsules and patches in any packaging, patches, 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.
As a part of their commitment to curb the opioid crisis, HCA Healthcare, the parent company of West Hills Hospital, has worked with the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. HCA Healthcare has given $750,000 to the Collaborative to support the development of safer pain management protocols and reversal of the opioid crisis.
As a learning health system, HCA Healthcare uses data from approximately 32 million annual patient encounters to help continuously improve care. The organization uses the science of “big data” to reduce opioid 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 decreases in opioid usage.
Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS): aims to stem increasing rates of opioid-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 record providing data that will allow them to prescribe opioids judiciously.
“Crush the Crisis” will take place at West Hills Hospital at 7300 Medical Center Drive. Please follow the event signage for the Drive-Up Collection site in the parking lot behind the facility. For more information, visit Crush the Crisis or call toll free at (833) 582-1970.