PANAMA CITY – HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital will hold its fourth annual “Crush the Crisis” opioid delivery on Saturday.
“Crush the Crisis” is a national occasion that raises awareness about the risks of opioid abuse and the importance of medication disposal. The occasion, which coincides with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Recovery Day in April, allows the network to safely and anonymously dispose of unused or expired prescriptions.
Residents can drop off their medications on Saturdays from 10 a. m. M. A 2 p. m. at the hospital’s Medical Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Center at 2024 State Ave. in Panama City.
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Garrett Chumney, an emergency physician with HCA, said the goal of the occasion was to educate the network about the threat of opioid abuse and provide a way to eliminate medications that might be left over from previous procedures or other doctor visits.
“The message we need to convey is to decrease the possibility of abuse of those drugs to cause additional harm to anyone,” Chumney said. “What other people don’t know is that a lot of opioid addiction starts with drug theft. “
Bay County Sheriff’s Department law enforcement officials will be available to collect tablets, pills and patches of hydrocodone (norco, lortab, vicodin), oxycodone (oxycontin, percocet), tramadol (ultram), codeine, fentanyl (duragesic), morphine, hydromorphone (dilaudid) and oxymorphone (opana).
All medications will be accepted, but needles, syringes, lancets, or liquids will be accepted.
“This is the occasion and medicines are never inspected. Everyone is welcome, even if it’s just a tablet,” Chumney said. “The medicines will be packaged and placed in a suitable container and you will be able to continue with your activities. “
Chumney said the hospital has noticed significant participation in the event in recent years. According to HCA Healthcare’s website, 96 HCA Healthcare services in 17 states collected 15,566 pounds of unused and expired prescription drugs at “Crush the Crisis” events in 2021.
“Any opioid that can be taken out of the stream is a win for the community,” Chumney said. “There have been a lot of other people coming to the site to drop off medication, so the result is positive, there are fewer opioids that can potentially be abused and on the streets. “
For more information about the event, hcafloridahealthcare. com.