UnitedHealthcare Donates Drug Disposal Kits to Local Health Clinics & Physicians to Help People Safely Dispose of Unused Opio...
May 04 2018 - 01:04PM
Business Wire
- 10,000 opioid disposal kits will be
distributed through Byrnes Health Education Center and Family First
Health
- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf joins
UnitedHealthcare and Family First Health at the Byrnes Health
Education Center to engage the community to address deadly
epidemic
UnitedHealthcare, working with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and
local care providers, is confronting the opioid epidemic by
donating 10,000 opioid disposal kits to the Byrnes Health Education
Center and Family First Health.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180504005684/en/
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of
Pennsylvania CEO Allison Davenport announces the donation of 10,000
opioid disposal kits to local care providers in York, Pa.
UnitedHealthcare joins Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Family First
Health at the Byrnes Health Education Center to engage the
community to address the deadly epidemic (Photo: Sean Simmers).
The disposal kits offer people a convenient way to remove unused
opioids from their homes and prevent their misuse or diversion.
Over 60 percent of Americans with leftover opioid medications
keep them in their homes, and 70 percent of people misusing opioid
painkillers first got them from family or friends. The risk to
children is also rising. A study published last year by the
American Academy of Pediatrics found an 86 percent increase in
calls to poison control centers related to children being exposed
to opioids in recent years; more than 60 percent were children
under age 5.
The Byrnes Health Education Center is raising awareness of the
overdose epidemic among children through educational programs about
the impact drugs can have on individuals, families and communities.
UnitedHealthcare is providing the opioid disposal kits as one way
to promote the safe disposal of opioids and to help prevent further
deaths from these drugs; the kits were made possible thanks to a
partnership with Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.
“Our goal is to give residents a safe, environmentally
responsible way to dispose of unused pain medication,” said Heather
Cianfrocco, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community & State. “Safe
disposal is critical to fighting the opioid epidemic in the York
community. Safe disposal is one important step in preventing
opioids from being misused, and ultimately, in saving lives.”
“We celebrate UnitedHealthcare’s commitment to fighting back
against the heroin and opioid epidemic that has been incredibly
damaging to Pennsylvania’s communities,” said Gov. Wolf. “These
drug disposal kits donated today will help us get rid of even more
opioids and prescription pills, and potentially help stop opioid
use disorder before it starts.”
Each opioid disposal kit deactivates up to 45 tablets or six
opioid patches through this easy process:
1. Open the sealable pouch, which contains
active carbon2. Add unused medications and warm water as directed
to the pouch3. The carbon binds to the active drug ingredients and
breaks the medication down4. Seal the pouch and safely discard in
your household garbage
Disposal kits are also being provided to Family First Health, a
federally qualified health center (FQHC) that was designated in
2016 by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as a Center of
Excellence for opioid use disorder treatment. Promoting use of the
kits is one component of a broader program between UnitedHealthcare
and Family First Health to confront the opioid epidemic called the
Opioid Community Partnership. UnitedHealthcare is launching the
Community Partnership in 10 cities across the United States,
including York, and Family First Health has been selected as the
leading care provider partner for this community.
“Each day, we see how families are devastated by these highly
addictive drugs,” said Jennifer Englerth, CEO of Family First
Health. “These are our neighbors, friends and family members. I’m
confident that, together with UnitedHealthcare, we will make
meaningful progress against the opioid epidemic.”
More than 2 million people in the United States suffer from
substance use disorders related to prescription opioid painkillers,
according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In Pennsylvania,
the Drug Enforcement Administration reported that more than 4,600
people died from overdoses in 2016 and an opioid was involved in 85
percent of those deaths.
For more information about UnitedHealthcare’s response to the
opioid epidemic, visit https://newsroom.uhc.com/opioids.html.
About
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping
people live healthier lives and making the health system work
better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience,
meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted
relationships with care providers. In the United States,
UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid
beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million
physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other
care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health
benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated
health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of
the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified
health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare
at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180504005684/en/
UnitedHealthcareJennifer Statham,
212-912-4001jennifer_statham@uhc.com
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