Medical City Healthcare participates in Drug Take Back events

Dallas, Texas — Six Medical City Healthcare hospitals are participating in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The hospitals will join with local law enforcement agencies hosting drug take back events on Saturday, October 29 to raise awareness about the dangers of opioid and drug misuse and proper disposal of medications.

Community members are invited to safely and anonymously dispose of unused or expired prescription or over-the-counter medications at drive-thru locations on October 29 from 10:00 am — 2:00 pm at:

• Medical City Arlington (Main entrance) 3301 Matlock Road, Arlington, TX 76015
• Medical City Dallas (Building A2 entrance) 7777 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230
• Medical City Denton (Professional building entrance) 3537 S. I-35E, Denton, TX 76210
• Medical City Frisco (Main entrance) 5500 Frisco Square Blvd, Frisco, TX 75034
• Medical City Las Colinas (Main entrance) 6800 N. MacArthur Blvd, Irving, TX 75039
• Medical City McKinney (Patient tower entrance) 4500 Medical Center Dr., McKinney, TX 75069

In 2021, there were more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is nearly a 15% increase in drug-related deaths from 2020.

“Medical City Healthcare hospitals have seen firsthand the devastating consequences of drug misuse and abuse,” says Medical City Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Joseph Parra, MD. “As a leading healthcare provider in North Texas, we believe it is vital to increase awareness of this important issue and offer our community a safe way to dispose of medications to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.”

Law enforcement officers from the Arlington, Dallas, Denton, Frisco, Irving and McKinney Police Departments will be on-site to collect any unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications. Needles, syringes, lancets and illegal drugs will not be accepted.

Medical City Healthcare is participating in the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day as part of its and HCA Healthcare’s year-round “Crush the Crisis” drug take back program. This will be the fourth year that HCA Healthcare and its hospitals have supported the DEA’s Drug Take Back Day. In October 2021, 96 HCA Healthcare facilities in 17 states collected 15,566 pounds of unused and expired medications at  events across the country. Medical City Healthcare hospitals collected 3,400 pounds of medications over the past year at both the drug take back events and from permanent drug take back boxes located at 12 Medical City Healthcare hospitals. The permanent boxes, which are compliant with DEA regulations, can be accessed free of charge, any day of the year — not just on a specific drug take back day.

To further help combat the nation’s opioid crisis, HCA Healthcare, the parent company of Medical City Healthcare, proudly partners with and provides clinical insight to the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. HCA Healthcare has committed $750,000 to the Collaborative to support the development of safer pain management protocols and the reversal of the opioid crisis.

As a learning health system, HCA Healthcare uses data from approximately 32 million annual patient encounters to help continuously improve care. The organization uses the science of “big data” to reduce opioid misuse and transform pain management, with initiatives in surgical, emergency and other care settings.

To learn more about Medical City Healthcare’s Drug Take Back Program, including events on October 29, or to find the location of a permanent drug take back box that is part of Medical City Healthcare’s ongoing efforts to “Crush the Crisis,” visit the Medical City Healthcare Drug Take Back Program website.