Press release from Pardee UNC Health Care:
Pardee UNC Health Care and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office will host a pill take-back event on Thursday, Oct. 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pardee’s Justice Street upper parking lot near the hospital’s main entrance. This event will provide local residents a convenient and safe way to dispose of old medications, including prescription pills, capsules, ointments, vitamins, liquids in their original containers, inhalers and patches. Radioactive chemotherapy medications as well as sharps, needles and EpiPens will not be accepted. For more information or questions, contact the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office at 828-697-4596 or visit them at 100 North Grove Street in Hendersonville.
“Dropping off your old medication helps keep other members of the household from taking expired medication that was not prescribed to them,” said David Ellis, M.D., chief medical officer at Pardee. “We also want local residents to avoid flushing medication down the drain, which puts unwanted chemicals into the area’s water supply.”
“Through our partnerships with organizations like Pardee UNC Health Care, our county is continuing to reduce the availability of opioids by offering community pill drop events,” said Sheriff Charles McDonald. “Many of the medications being collected at these events are highly addictive. We encourage the community to join us and Pardee to prevent these drugs from falling into the wrong hands.”
Since Sheriff Charles McDonald instituted the drug disposal program in 2013, over 5,575 pounds of medications have been properly disposed of and kept out of the water supply and out of the hands of potential abusers. More than 1,000 pounds have been collected and incinerated in 2017 alone. In addition to the on-site pill collection events, the public can bring their medications to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office lobby, located at 100 North Grove Street every Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Pardee UNC Health Care is a not-for-profit community hospital founded in 1953 and is managed by UNC Health Care. The hospital is licensed for 222 acute care beds. Pardee has several locations separate from the main campus, including a comprehensive physician practice network, two urgent care locations and five orthopedic clinics. For more information or to find a physician, visit pardeehospital.
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