WOONSOCKET, R.I., April 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health
(NYSE: CVS) announced today that the company has expanded its safe
medication disposal program to locations inside 19 CVS Pharmacy
locations in West Virginia to help
facilitate proper and timely disposal of opioids and other
medications that could otherwise be diverted or misused. The
CVS Health Foundation will also provide a $20,000 grant to Westbrook Health Services in
Parkersburg to support
opioid addiction recovery.
"CVS Health is dedicated to addressing and preventing opioid
abuse and misuse in the communities we serve," said Thomas G.
Davis, R.Ph., Vice President of Professional Services for CVS
Health. "We are expanding our safe medication disposal efforts to
provide more locations where people can safely dispose of unwanted
medications, getting them out of medicine cabinets where they could
be abused. Our safe medication disposal initiative, and our
funding for community organizations supporting addiction recovery
in West Virginia, are an extension
of CVS Health's purpose of helping people on their path to better
health."
The 19 new medication disposal units that have been installed
inside CVS Pharmacy locations in West
Virginia will supplement the five additional units CVS
Health has previously donated to police departments in Parkersburg, Star
City, Charleston,
Marlinton and Morgantown.
Nationwide, the company has donated more than 850 units to police
departments, collecting more than 140 metric tons, or 300,000
pounds of unwanted medication. And the program continues to
accept applications from law enforcement in West Virginia and across the
country.
The $20,000 grant being awarded to
Westbrook Health Services is another part of CVS Health's focus on
preventing and addressing opioid abuse. Westbrook Health
Services provides behavioral health services in eight rural
counties in West Virginia:
Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler,
Wirt and Wood. This grant
will support Westbrook's "Community Partner Outreach Initiative for
Healthy Outcomes," which is designed to educate and connect people
struggling with challenges associated with substance use disorder
(SUD) to programs and services in their community. Using
prevention, education and stigma reduction messaging, this program
will assist in educating the community to more positively address
the issue of substance use disorder, providing hope and help.
Specifically, the grant will improve training, benefiting 3,000
patients in Westbrook's treatment center and 5,000 local students
via community outreach.
"The funding Westbrook Health Services, Inc. received from CVS
Health allows us to provide valuable training in substance use
disorder for Westbrook staff and the community at large," said
Liz Ford, Marketing Coordinator,
Westbrook Health Services. "Through this support, we are better
able address the opioid epidemic throughout West Virginia, which is critical to delivering
a healthier community."
The expansion of safe medication disposal to a total of 750 CVS
Pharmacy locations across the U.S. was included among the
enhancements to the company's strategy to address and prevent
opioid abuse announced in September
2017. As part of that effort, the company also said it
would enhance opioid utilization management aligned with CDC
Guideline for CVS Caremark clients and members, complementing
measures already in place. This work builds on ongoing
programs the company operates including the Pharmacists Teach
program, which brings CVS Pharmacists to local schools to talk to
teens and parents about the dangers of abusing prescription
drugs. Nearly 4,000 students across West Virginia have already participated in the
program. CVS Health has also worked to expand access to the
opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone in 46 states, including West
Virginia.
The 19 new medication disposal units are located at the
following CVS Pharmacy locations:
Athens
|
Charleston
|
Lewisburg
|
105 S. State
St.
|
1327 Plaza
East
|
9781 Seneca Trail
S.
|
|
|
|
Beaver
|
Clarksburg
|
Montgomery
|
Rt 19-21 Ritter
Dr.
|
701 E. Main
St.
|
300 Fourth
Ave.
|
|
|
|
Beckley
|
Elkins
|
Morgantown
|
1414 N. Eisenhower
Dr.
|
505 Randolph
Ave.
|
1000 Pineview
Dr.
|
2811 Robert C. Byrd
Dr.
|
|
|
1827 Harper
Rd.
|
Elkview
|
Parkersburg
|
|
221 Crossings Mall
Rd.
|
1605 7th
St.
|
Bluefield
|
|
|
1846 Coal Heritage
Dr.
|
Fayetteville
|
Princeton
|
|
72 Whitewater
Ave.
|
1298 Stafford
Dr.
|
Buckhannon
|
|
|
74 W. Main
St.
|
Gassaway
|
Summersville
|
|
2907 State
St.
|
700 Northside
Dr.
|
About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation
company helping people on their path to better health. Through its
more than 9,800 retail locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical
clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with more than 94
million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business
serving more than one million patients per year, expanding
specialty pharmacy services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare
Part D prescription drug plan, the company enables people,
businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and
effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to
quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall
health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is
shaping the future of health at www.cvshealth.com.
Media Contact:
Erin Shields Britt
Corporate Communications
(401) 770-9237
Erin.Britt@CVSHealth.com
Mary Gattuso
Corporate Communications
(401) 770-9811
Mary.Gattuso@CVSHealth.com
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SOURCE CVS Health