October 12, 2018
Unsure how to dispose of expired or unused prescription medications? Bring them to Mather Hospital on Saturday, Oct. 27 between 10am and 2pm as part of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Old medications can be brought to f Mather’s Cody Ambulatory Surgery Pavilion Lobby on the north side of the hospital, off Belle Terre Road.
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is a safe, convenient, and responsible way to dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs. The last Take-Back Day brought in almost 1 million pounds of unused or expired prescription medication nationwide.
More than 42,000 Americans died in 2016 as a result of opioid overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It is vitally important that these medications be safely disposed of so they are not used for purposes other than their original intention,” said Jon Morgenstern, PhD, assistant vice president of addiction services at Northwell Health. “We need our communities’ help to remove these temptations and help make a dent in the opioid issue in New York State.”
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is organized by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Check the DEA’s official Take Back Day website at https://takebackday.dea.gov/ for more information and to find year-round collection sites near you.
# # #
About Mather Hospital
Mather Hospital is an accredited 248-bed, non-profit community teaching hospital dedicated to providing a wide spectrum of high quality healthcare services to Suffolk County residents, showing compassion and respect and treating each patient in the manner we would wish for our loved ones. Mather has earned the prestigious Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which recognizes healthcare organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. Mather is the only Hospital on Long Island to receive the top “A” rating for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group in the latest rating period. Mather also was ranked 21st out of almost 250 hospitals in New York State in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Hospitals rankings. For further information about Mather Hospital, visit www.matherhospital.org or “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/matherhospital.
About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, more than 600 outpatient facilities and nearly 15,000 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 66,000 employees – 15,000-plus nurses and 4,000 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu