National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is today

WEST CHESTER >> Chester County’s Department of Drug & Alcohol Services is raising community awareness for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day taking place today.

Organized nationwide by the Drug Enforcement Administration, National Prescription Drug Take Back Day provides local sites for safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while educating the public about the potential for abuse of medications.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., temporary prescription drug disposal sites will be set up throughout Chester County, in locations including Avondale, Berwyn, Coatesville, Downingtown, Kennett Square, Malvern, Phoenixville and West Grove. These temporary sites will join the 23 permanent drug disposal sites throughout the county.

Collection boxes for prescription drugs in Chester County are at 23 permanent locations, and for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, an additional 10 temporary locations will be established. For a full list of permanent locations, go to www.chesco.org/DrugandAlcohol, and for temporary locations, go to www.DEA. gov. Medication collection boxes are just one of the several prevention, education and awareness initiatives undertaken by Chester County to combat the opioid and heroin epidemic plaguing the region. In 2015, the Chester County Overdose Task Force was created bringing together the Chester County Commissioners’ Office, the District Attorney’s Office, the Health Department, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Services and many other County and community partners to address the opioid epidemic by sharing education, awareness, and innovative ideas. Last November, over 750 people of all ages participated in the first Color 5k Run/Walk which raised $25,000. The funds were donated to Chester County’s five hospitals for their warm hand-off program, transitioning those who have been saved from an overdose into long-term treatment, while also educating and supporting the individual and their family. The Narcotics Overdose Prevention and Education (NOPE) Task Force, a project of Holcomb Behavioral Health Systems in partnership with the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, has presented to over 40,000 middle and high school students and over 1,000 parents and community members educating on the dangers of prescription drugs. Good Fellowship Ambulance & EMS has trained 46 municipal police department in Chester County to carry Naloxone, a live saving opioid antidote that reverses an opioid overdose. In addition to training the police departments, Good Fellowship provided 300 kits of Naloxone to trained police officers from Chester County. Since the program’s inception in January 2015, there have been 165 administrations of Naloxone resulting in 156 saves, which is a 95 percent success rate.