South Shore University Hospital Shares Drug Take-Back Day Results

Press release from Northwell Health:

May 3, 2021

South Shore University Hospital collected 200 pounds of drugs during Drug Take Back Day last weekend. The response from the community was tremendous, and neighbors were very appreciative, saying they’d been holding onto their drugs for a long time, not sure what to do with them.

With overdoses up significantly during the pandemic, keeping 200.5 pounds of drugs from potentially falling into the wrong hands certainly makes a difference. Some sad statistics that serve as a reminder of the importance of this initiative:

As per the CDC, June 2020 through April 2021 is the deadliest year on record for drug overdoses, with 81,230 lives lost.

Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. That's dangerous and often tragic. That's why it was great to see thousands of people from across the country clean out their medicine cabinets and turn in - safely and anonymously - a record amount of prescription drugs.

This press release was produced by Northwell Health. The views expressed here are the author's own.