West Valley Medical Center collected 65 pounds of medications during it's first annual “Crush the Crisis” opioid take back event, on Saturday, September 7. Law enforcement officers from the Caldwell Police Department partnered with West Valley to provide community members an easy way to drop off unused and expired medications.
“A significant number of opioid addictions and overdose deaths come from individuals accessing unused opioid prescriptions of family and friends. That's why events like this are so important, not only to provide an opportunity for the community to properly dispose of medications but also to educate," said Betsy Hunsicker, West Valley Chief Executive Officer.
As an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, West Valley Medical Center is part of a system that uses the science of “big data” to reduce opioid misuse and transform pain management, with initiatives in surgical, emergency and other care settings, including:
- Enhanced Surgical Recovery: HCA Healthcare/West Valley Medical Center focuses on a multi-modal approach to acute pain management. This means two or more methods or medications are used to reduce the need to use opioids to manage a patient’s pain while recovering from surgery or in the emergency room.
- Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS): Physicians have access to aggregated electronic health records that make it more difficult for medication-seekers to doctor-shop or alter prescriptions. ECPS is available across HCA Healthcare.
- Controlling pain with technology: Patients recovering from surgery are benefiting from an innovative technology at West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell, Idaho - the first in the state of Idaho to have it. The technology is a non-pharmaceutical solution for multimodal treatment of pain. Nationwide, it has proven to reduce discomfort in 83 percent of patients in a clinical setting.
- Opioid Addiction Resources: West Valley has devoted a webpage to help those seeking resources. It also includes more information about what West Valley is doing to help crush the crisis. https://westvalleymedctr.com/blog/entry/opioid-addiction-resources
A member of Governor Brad Little's staff was present for today's event to show support for West Valley's goal to rid cabinets of unused and expired opioid medications.
Approximately 65 HCA Healthcare facilities across 14 states united for the take back event on Saturday, September 7.