Dosher Memorial Hospital is sponsoring its 11th prescription drug collection drive this Thursday.
According to notice from Dosher Memorial Hospital, the drive-through drug collection will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the hospital, 924 N. Howe St. in Southport on Aug. 21.
Participants can simply drive under the canopy at the hospital’s main entrance and staff will be on hand to collect the drugs for disposal, according to Dosher Hospital Community Relations Director Kirk Singer.
The hospital asks that drugs are properly labeled so staff and law enforcement officials will know the type of medication they are dealing with. Personal health information–such as names and addresses–may be removed or marked out.
The hospital will also collect pet medications and used hypodermic needles, Singer said.
The event, called “Operation Medicine Cabinet,” is intended to give residents in and around the southeastern Brunswick County area an opportunity to safely dispose of out-of-date or unwanted prescription as well as over-the-counter medications, Singer said.
“This is the eleventh time Dosher has sponsored Operation Medicine Cabinet. Each time we host an Operation Medicine Cabinet, the number of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and medications we collect continues to grow,” Singer said.
The drug collection drive will be held in cooperation with the Southport Police Department, Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
City, county and federal law enforcement officials will be at the hospital to assist in directing traffic and watching over the collected drugs until they can be properly disposed of, Singer said.
“Operation Medicine Cabinet lets people properly dispose of out-of-date prescription or over-the-counter drugs which can harm or even kill you,” Singer said. “Also, these days prescription drugs from the medicine cabinet have become the ‘drug of choice’ for many teenagers.
“In addition, when medicine is flushed down the toilet, washed down the sink or just thrown out, it can end up in our water supply. Through this drug collection we are caring for our community and for our environment as well.”
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