Hermitage, TN — TriStar Summit Medical Center collected 22.4 pounds of opioid medications during its "Crush the Crisis" opioid take back day on September 7, to help combat the nation's opioid crisis. Over 30 community members participated in the event by dropping off unused and expired prescription medications.
"The misuse of prescription opioids often begins when they are obtained from a friend or family member's medicine cabinet. TriStar Summit was proud to partner with the Donelson-Hermitage police precinct to offer our community a safe and anonymous collection and disposal of unused or expired medication. As a healthcare provider we are very engaged in wanting to ensure medications are used properly and safely," said Brian Marger, CEO, TriStar Summit Medical Center.
As an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, TriStar Summit Medical Center is part of a health system that also uses science of "big data" to reduce opioid misuse and transform pain management, with initiatives in surgical, emergency and other care settings including:
- Enhanced surgical recovery (ESR)/alternatives to opioids in the emergency room (ALTO in the ER): HCA Healthcare focuses on a multi-modal approach to acute pain management. This means two or more methods or medications are employed to reduce the need to use opioids to manage a patient's pain while recovering from surgery or in the emergency room.
- Electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS): Physicians have access to aggregated electronic health records that make it more difficult for medication-seekers to doctor-shop or alter prescriptions.
Approximately 65 HCA Healthcare facilities participated in a "Crush the Crisis" opioid take back day in their communities on September 7, 2019.