VUMC to conduct prescription drug takeback tomorrow

Vanderbilt University Medical Center provides a safe place to dispose of opioids all year using Medsafe collection boxes located in pharmacies at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Medical Center East, The Vanderbilt Clinic and Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks. To highlight this resource in conjunction with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) national takeback day, on April 27 from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. VUMC will have a table outside the Children's Hospital Pharmacy, on the second floor of Children's Hospital, with volunteers to help dispose of excess prescriptions. The effort is co-sponsored with Team Hope, an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers and supporting staff formed to improve the care of the opioid exposed mother-baby dyad through a multifaceted, family-centered approach.

It's important to know that medications can also be returned any time. Metro Nashville has also set up collection boxes at police headquarters and eight police precincts. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has an interactive map posted on its website to locate medicine disposal locations.

There is also an annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, this year on on Saturday, April 28, the day after the VUMC event. This event is sponsored by DEA, and is aimed at providing a safe, convenient and responsible way of disposing of prescription medications while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. Last year, 900,386 pounds (450 tons) of medications were collected nationwide at 5,498 sites.