Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center partnering with LVMPD and DEA for Opioid take-back day on Oct. 24.
The event will be held in the ER parking lot on 9300 W Sunset Road Las Vegas, NV, 89148 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event aligns with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and Southern Hills Hospital invites community members to safely and anonymously dispose of unused or expired prescription medications.
Volunteers will be collecting tablets, capsules and patches of Hydrocodone (Norco, Lortab, Vicodin), Oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet), Tramadol (Ultram), Codeine, Fentanyl (Duragesic), Morphine, Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and Oxymorphone (Opana). Needles, syringes, lancets or liquids will not be accepted.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 2 million people in the U.S. suffered from an opioid use disorder and more than 67,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2018.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the U.S. is seeing an increase in opioid usage, with 40 states reporting increases in opioid-related mortality, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).
The opioid epidemic is also beginning to affect the most vulnerable among us. NAS or neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) may occur when a pregnant woman uses drugs such as opioids during pregnancy.
A recent national study revealed a fivefold increase in the incidence of NAS/NOWS between 2004 and 2010.
