Mission Health collects 270 pounds of medications during national drug take back day

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 7, 2022) – Mission Health collected 270 pounds of medications during its 3 rd annual “Crush the Crisis” national prescription drug take-back day on Saturday, October 29, 2022. This event aligns with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, to raise awareness about the danger of drug misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of unused or expired medications. Community members participated in the event by dropping off unused and expired medications which were collected by law enforcement officers from the various law enforcement departments in our participating communities.

These are the totals from across Mission Health:
Angel Medical Center: 15.5 pounds
Blue Ridge Regional Hospital: 14 pounds
Highlands-Cashiers Hospital: 10 pounds
Mission Hospital: 142 pounds
Mission Hospital McDowell: 58 pounds
Transylvania Regional Hospital: 30.5 pounds

The 270-pound total eclipsed last year by 91 pounds! As an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, Mission Health is part of a health system that also uses 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 records, providing data that will allow them to prescribe opioids judiciously.

This year, all 15 HCA Healthcare U.S. divisions participated in a “Crush the Crisis” drug take-back day at 110 collection sites across 17 states.