Children's Mercy, Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas & Children's Mercy East to serve as collection sites October 28

Children’s Mercy once again will participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, serving as a drop off/collection site for expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Law enforcement officials will collect medications individuals & families no longer need from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, near the entrances at Children's Mercy - Adele Hall Campus, Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas and Children's Mercy East. Citizens, including Children's Mercy staff members, can simply drive up, drop off the drugs and go. The service is free and anonymous, and no questions are asked. Pills, patches and liquids will be accepted, but not aerosols, needles/syringes or sharps.

Check out other KC-area drop-off locations here. 

The effort, coordinated by Children's Mercy’s Council for Violence Prevention and sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), provides a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about preventing pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

The initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that stay in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — both pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the upcoming Take Back Day event, visit the DEA Diversion website.