Parkview is partnering with the Allen County TRIAD to promote the importance of proper disposal of medications and assist in their upcoming drop off day. Cassie Kurtz, outreach coordinator, Parkview Senior Services and TRIAD board member, Lisa Knox, social support supervisor and TRIAD board member and Sarah Pfaehler, Clinical Integration pharmacist tell us more about their upcoming event.
The partnership
The purpose of TRIAD is to promote senior safety. Additionally, TRIAD, with the help of community partnerships like Parkview, promotes Unwanted Medication Collection days to encourage proper elimination of unused medications. This in turn reduces risk to the community. TRIAD’s Unwanted Medication Collection takes place two times per year, once in the spring and once in the fall.
The risks
There are a number of reasons why it’s important for seniors – and people of all ages – to practice proper medication disposal, including:
Environmental safety.Improper disposal through traditional trash or flushing directly into our water sources can lead to adverse environmental exposure, which can cause contamination.
Creation of adverse medication errors.Individuals with multiple medications are more likely to take them by mistake after they have been discontinued when they remain present in the home and/or continued to be stored with their current medications.
Unintentional ingestion; Little hands and paws.When medications remain in the home beyond their prescribed use they become accessible to others. This makes it easy for them to be consumed out of curiosity or by mistake. Proper disposal also protects children, pets and other vulnerable individuals.
Recreational prescription drug use prevention.In light of today’s opioid crisis, providing limited access to unused medications from friends, family or others directly removes the opportunity for misuse or abuse.
Decreased efficacy of medications.The longer a medication sits the more chance it has to shift its chemical make-up. Degraded ingredients can make them less effective or can create adverse side effects if ingested.
The next unwanted medication disposal date is Friday, April 26 28 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Parkview Regional Medical Center, 11109 Parkview Plaza Dr., Entrance 4 Lobby. Bring expired or unwanted medications (pills only) for drop-off during these hours. For more information, call 469-3036 or visit www.agingihs.org.
If you can’t make it to the TRIAD event, several locations accept medication disposals, including select Walgreen’s Drug Stores, the Allen County Sheriff (Huntertown Town Hall), the Fort Wayne Police (Rousseau Centre Building) and the New Haven Police (815 Lincoln Highway East).