Unused and expired medication can be disposed of at 12 Northwell Health locations that will be participating in this year’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 27.
In partnership with local law enforcement and the DEA, the following Northwell hospitals will have secure receptacles at the hospitals for people to safely deposit these leftover medications from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 27: Huntington Hospital; Lenox Health Greenwich Village and Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan; Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park; Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson; Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco; North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset; Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead; Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow; Southside Hospital in Bay Shore; and Staten Island University Hospital’s north and south campuses.
“When these medications remain in people’s medicine cabinets, they create an avenue of access, and can potentially be used for purposes other than their prescribed intent,” said Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, director of Northwell Health’s Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment. “We appreciate our community members partnering with us to safely remove these unneeded medications from their homes. Together, we can assist our communities as we all work to navigate the substance use crisis we are facing. ”
More than 70,000 people died of a drug overdose in the United States in 2017, according to that National Institute on Drug Abuse.
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is organized by the Drug Enforcement Administration and happens twice a year. In October, Northwell Health collected about 330 pounds of unused prescriptions.
For more information about National Drug Take Back Day, go to https://takebackday.dea.gov/.
