Drop Your Unwanted Medications at Mercy Health Hospitals

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is hosting national Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, October 28.

Prescription Drug Take Back Day gives the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by making it convenient for people to rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Mercy Health’s Cincinnati-area hospitals support this initiative and have drop boxes available at the following locations:

• Mercy Health — Anderson Hospital, 7500 State Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45255, 513-624-4500
• Mercy Health — Clermont Hospital, 3000 Hospital Drive, Batavia, Ohio 45103
• Mercy Health — Fairfield Hospital, 3000 Mack Road, Fairfield, Ohio 45014 (available weekdays only)
• The Jewish Hospital — Mercy Health, 4777 E Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236
• Mercy Health — West Hospital, 3300 Mercy Health Blvd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45211

The staff at the front desk can direct people to the drop boxes.

“Accepting unwanted medications in our secure and conveniently located drop boxes is one way that Mercy Health is addressing this vital public safety and public health issue and ensuring proper disposal of these drugs,” said Mike Garfield, Chief Executive Officer and Senior Vice President, Mercy Health - Cincinnati. “Our community can help prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths by returning unwanted, expired and unused prescription drugs to secure drop boxes.”

The DEA notes that the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. The study showed that people obtained a majority of abused prescription drugs from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.

The DEA and its partners have taken in over 8.1 million pounds of pills over the course of 13 previous Take Back events.