HCA Healthcare Collects Record-Breaking 13,523 Pounds of Medication During 2020 “Crush the Crisis” Opioid Take Back
December 10 2020 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Community events at 95 facilities across the
country properly dispose of more than twice as much medication as
previous year
HCA Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading healthcare
providers, today announced that it collected 13,523 pounds of
unused and expired prescription medications during its “Crush the
Crisis” opioid take back day enterprise events, more than twice as
much as it collected last year. The events, which took place at 95
HCA Healthcare facilities across 18 states on October 24, 2020, in
alignment with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National
Prescription Drug Take Back Day, were aimed at educating
communities on the dangers of opioid misuse and the importance of
safe and proper disposal of expired and unused prescription
medications.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the U.S. is seeing a
significant increase in opioid usage, with 40 states reporting an
increase in opioid-related mortality, according to the American
Medical Association (AMA). “Crush the Crisis” called on communities
across the country to address this timely issue. The events
collectively disposed of an estimated 9.3 million doses of
medication, eliminating the adverse possibility of potential
misuse.
“Communities across the country came together in the midst of
this global pandemic to properly dispose of expired and unused
medications and make a difference in our battle against the opioid
epidemic,” said Dr. Michael Schlosser, chief medical officer of HCA
Healthcare’s national group and vice president of group operations,
Clinical Operations Group. “Thank you to the DEA, local law
enforcement agencies, hospital volunteers and all the many
participants who showed up to help ‘Crush the Crisis.’”
The concept of “Crush the Crisis” was spearheaded by Sara
Stedman, an orthopaedic nurse in HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Division,
when she organized a single take back event at TriStar Centennial
Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee in 2017. Last year, “Crush
the Crisis” was rolled out nationally, spanning 100 locations
across 16 states, with 5,887 pounds of medication collected.
“The idea for ‘Crush the Crisis’ came to me after I witnessed
the devastating effects that opioid abuse can have on an individual
and his or her family,” said Stedman. “Thanks to the backing of HCA
Healthcare, it is truly remarkable to see how this simple idea has
evolved into a national movement that’s helping to bring greater
awareness to the dangers of opioid misuse and why it’s important to
safely and properly dispose of these unused and expired medications
before they fall into the hands of someone who may abuse them.”
A total of 95 facilities across 18 states around the country
participated in “Crush the Crisis” events by partnering with local
law enforcement agencies to collect unused and expired prescription
medications. HCA Healthcare facility events with the greatest
amount of medication collected include:
- Ocala Health in Ocala, Florida collected 1,097 pounds
- Chippenham Hospital and Johnston-Willis Hospital in Richmond,
Virginia collected 847 pounds
- Brandon Regional Hospital in Brandon, Florida collected 714
pounds
- Lee's Summit Medical Center in Lee’s Summit, Missouri collected
700 pounds
- Medical City Arlington in Arlington, Texas collected 527
pounds
- Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center in Panama City, Florida
collected 499 pounds
Please click here for more information on HCA Healthcare’s
“Crush the Crisis.”
About HCA Healthcare
Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading
providers of healthcare services comprising more than 2,000 sites
of care, including 187 hospitals, surgery centers, freestanding
ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 21 states and
the United Kingdom. With its founding in 1968, HCA Healthcare
created a new model for hospital care in the United States, using
combined resources to strengthen hospitals, deliver patient-focused
care and improve the practice of medicine. HCA Healthcare has
conducted a number of clinical studies, including one that
demonstrated that full-term delivery is healthier than early
elective delivery of babies and another that identified a clinical
protocol that can reduce bloodstream infections in ICU patients by
44 percent. HCA Healthcare is a learning health system that uses
its more than 35 million annual patient encounters to advance
science, improve patient care and save lives. Please click here to
connect with HCA Healthcare on social media.
All references to “Company,” “HCA” and “HCA
Healthcare” as used throughout this document refer to HCA
Healthcare, Inc. and its affiliates.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201210005561/en/
INVESTOR CONTACT: Mark Kimbrough 615-344-2688
MEDIA CONTACT: Harlow Sumerford 615-344-1851
HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024