Grundy County Memorial Hospital | Live Well | Spring 2018

How to safely dispose of opioid medications It may be a prescription from a surgery you had five years ago—or a more recently prescribed opioid that is lingering in your medicine cabinet. Disposing of the drug safely by taking it to a community drop-off site is advised. What medications are opioids? Well-known brand-name pain medications like Vicodin (hydrocodone) and OxyContin (oxycodone), are opioids. Generic opioid medications include buprenorphine, codeine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, methodone, morphine and oxymorphone. How to safely dispose of opioid medications If you have any unused opioid medications like the ones listed above or other narcotics, dispose of them safely by taking them to a designated medication drop-off site, such as these locations: ●   ● Grundy County Sheriff’s Department: 705 8th St., Grundy Center ●   ● Hardin County Sheriff’s Department: 1116 14th Ave., Eldora ●   ● Parkersburg Police Department: 506 Highway 57, Parkersburg ●   ● Tama County Sheriff’s Department: 100 N. Main, Toledo ●   ● NuCara Pharmacies in Conrad and Ackley How to safely dispose of unused prescription medications If you have any unused prescription medications that are not opioids or narcotics, you can take them to these local pharmacies that participate in the Iowa “Take Away” program: ●   ● Reinbeck Pharmacy ●   ● Manly Drug in Grundy Center ●   ● Parkersburg Pharmacy ●   ● Medicap Pharmacy in Eldora Source: Iowa Department of Public Health Opioids are in the head- lines. These powerful medications are good at relieving pain in the short term. They also help people with active cancer and people receiving hospice or pal- liative care cope with pain. But opioids come with some serious risks, including the risk of addiction and unintentional overdose and death. There were 180 opioid-related deaths in Iowa in 2016, and tragically, the num- ber is expected to increase. The Opioid Guardianship Project Iowa hospitals are joining forces in the fight against opioid abuse. Grundy County Memorial Hospital is taking part in the Opioid Guardianship Project, sponsored by the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. This initiative uses patient education, different methods of measur- ing patient comfort and changes to a provider’s process of ordering pain medications to reduce opioid abuse. “An internal team that includes nurses, pharmacists and providers are examining how we can educate patients who are discharged on a prescription opioid pain medication,” says Tasha Opperman, RN, BSN, GCMH Staff Education Coordinator. Reducing opioid abuse Opperman oversees the implementa- tion of this program at GCMH. The goal is to create a treatment care plan that decreases a patient’s risk of opioid abuse. “Overall, these efforts will improve communication between providers, patients and families about the safe use of prescription pain medication and help establish realistic expectations for patient comfort,” says Opperman. Take action Opperman says that individuals can play a role in preventing opioid abuse. “The safe disposal of prescription pain- killers as soon as you’re done taking them is important,” she says. “Medicine cabinet access by a teen or a visitor to your home can lead to misuse or even addiction.” She encourages everyone reading this article to take a look in their medicine cabinet—and safely dispose of any leftover medication by using one of the convenient medication disposal sites in their area. See the sidebar at right for medication drop-off locations. GCMH will provide more information on the Opioid Guardianship Project as the initiatives are implemented and measured. Hospitals join forces to fight the opioid addiction crisis Tasha Opperman, RN, BSN 3