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KEARNEY — On April 27, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office is hosting a prescription takeback event.
The event is put on in partnership with the Kearney Police Department, CHI Health Good Samaritan, Kearney/Holdrege Elks Lodge #984, and Buffalo County Community Partners’ Positive Pressure. Bring your medications for disposal to CHI Health Good Samaritan Hospital, 10 E 31st St, Kearney, NE, at the north parking lot “M”. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
If community members cannot attend on the event, prescriptions can be taken back to pharmacies year-round to be disposed of. Pharmacies that participate in year-round disposal are, ABC Drugs Kearney, Kearney Hy-Vee, Kearney Walgreens, Kearney CVS (Target), Kearney Haeberle’s (Apple Market), Svanda Rexall Pharmacy Ravenna, Valley (Kearney Clinic), Lambert’s Family Pharmacy Gibbon, and Kearney U Save Pharmacy.
In Buffalo County a total of 250.2 lbs. of prescription drugs were collected in 2023 (spring and fall collection events). This event is in conjunction with the National Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Last fall, the nation collectively turned in 599,897 lbs. of prescription drugs.
Medicines that stay in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. According to recent Cetner for Disease Control (CDC) data, unintentional poisoning is among the top 10 causes of both nonfatal and fatal injury for younger children 0-4 years old and is among the leading causes of fatal injury for older children 10-24 years old. The CDC, also reported 105,303 individuals died from a drug overdose in the last year (2023).
Event volunteer, Doug Kramer, Kearney Elks Lodge #984, DDGER/Secretary, states, “I truly believe it’s vital for our local communities to step up and be proactive in providing a safe and responsible method of disposing unused prescription drugs. Expired medications unfortunately find their way into the wrong hands, sometimes intentionally and by accident. We work together as prevention professionals, law enforcement officers, health care providers; and volunteers to keep our youth and families safe.”
This project is 50% funded by the Nebraska State Opioid Response grant (5H79TI085774-02) through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, contracted through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health.
Buffalo County Community Partners is a non-profit organization, who identifies issues in the community, collects and evaluates data, and invests the time to understand the issues. Partners facilitates community conversations to find innovative solutions and connects people to essential resources. Find more at www.bcchp.org or contact us at (308)865-2284 or info@bcchp.org.
