Friday, April 01, 2011 - Bring in unused medications for proper disposal on Earth Day, April 22 

Many people think they’re doing the right thing by flushing unused medications down the toilet to keep them out of children’s hands.

“But what people may not realize is that when they flush these drugs down the toilet, they are putting hazardous chemicals into the water supply, which affects us all,” said Gerald Petrosky, pharmacy director at Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center (OHMC).

 

On Thursday, April 22, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. the six Oakwood Outpatient Pharmacies will do their part for Earth Day by accepting unused medications for proper disposal. Those six pharmacies are located at OHMC in Dearborn, Oakwood Annapolis Hospital in Wayne, Oakwood Heritage Hospital in Taylor, Oakwood Southshore Medical Hospital in Trenton, Oakwood Healthcare Center-Westland and Oakwood Healthcare Center-Canton.

 

For directions to these pharmacies, visit oakwood.org/pharmacy.

By law, Oakwood pharmacies are not allowed to accept any controlled substances such as Percocet or Valium. Patient privacy will be respected and bottles with labels on them will be returned once the medication is disposed of properly. Oakwood pharmacists will be available to answer any questions about this process.

 

Participants in this Earth Day’s proper disposal of medication will receive a coupon toward the purchase of over-the-counter products and general merchandise. The first 250 participants also will receive an eco-friendly tote bag