Response to Heroin, Opiate, and Prescription Pill Epidemic
Summa Health leads a proactive and responsive effort to the on-going heroin, opiate, and prescription pill epidemic plaguing our community. Partnering with community organizations, our goal is to address the community’s concerns, provide premium addiction and mental healthcare and be part of the conversation that creates solutions. Our partners include:
- Summit County Opiate Task Force (to which we are a member),
- Summit County Community Partnership
- Summit County ADM Board
- Summit County Public Health
Summa Health Police Department partnered with the Summa Health Pharmacy and Summa Health Community Benefit to be a driving factor in the health system’s response to the opiate epidemic, offering a comprehensive pill disposal program. Offering every resident the access and ability to properly dispose of unused or unwanted medication through our Dispose of Unused Medication Properly (D.U.M.P.)
D.U.M.P. boxes are available at anytime in the entrance of each of the following locations:
- Akron Campus Emergency Room
- Barberton Campus Emergency Room
- Green Emergency Room
- Wadsworth Emergency Room
Summa also participates in the annual Drug Enforcement Agency's National Prescription Pill Take-back days in northeast Ohio as well as offering Deterra Bags through our Meds-to-Beds program at the Barberton and Akron Campus.
According to Summit County Public Health through a report issued by the Ohio Department of Health, more than 25 percent of high school students have abused prescription medication. Many teens believe these drugs to are safer because they have legitimate uses. When the medicine cabinet options run out, some turn to street drugs, such as heroin for their cost, easy access and a similar high. One of the simplest ways to prevent this abuse is to dispose of the medications properly once they are not needed.
DUMP Boxes
To support this effort, Summa Health has D.U.M.P. boxes available to the Summit County community through our partnership with Summit County Public Health. Safe and secured boxes allow community members to easily and safely dispose of expired or unwanted medications, rather than keeping them on hand, which may result in inappropriate use. Disposing of prescription medication in a secured location also avoids having them thrown in the garbage or flushing them away causing unsecured and environmental issues. DUMP boxes are located at our Emergency Room entrances of the Akron and Barberton Campus, the Green ER, as well as the Wadsworth Emergency Room Vestibule.
D.U.M.P. boxes cannot be used for the disposal of sharps or aerosols such as inhalers. For more information on the D.U.M.P. Boxes and what types of medications are accepted please check out our video and/or the Summit County Public Health website.
DEA Drug Take Back Day
Summa Health Police Department hosts Drug Take Back locations annually in various parts of Summit County. Please check the DEA website for more information and locations. Over the last 5 years we have properly disposed of more than 200 lbs. of unwanted and unused medication.
Deterra Bags
The Deterra Bag program is a venture with the Summit County Community Partnership (SCCP) to reduce the number of unused pills/medications in our community. Each grant cycle of this program is estimated to take 1.3 million unused pills out of the community. According to the SCCP, 4 out of 5 heroin users began with recreational use of prescription pain relievers. This is one more component of our response to the heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic. The Deterra program is through our Summa Health Pharmacy’s Meds to Beds Program and given to anyone who has an opiate prescription. Depending on the initial success we will evaluate expanding the program into other areas of the health system. All that is asked of a Deterra bag recipient is that they send the survey attached to the bag back to SCCP.
For more information on these programs please contact the Summa Health Police Detective Bureau at 330.375.6912.