St. Charles Health System to host medication take back event
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – St. Charles Health System is hosting a medication take-back event on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its St. Charles Bend hospital campus at 2600 NE Neff Road.
The take-back event is intended to help households dispose of medications that could be ingested by someone other than the person for whom they were prescribed and to prevent medications from ending up in the water table.
In 2019, the second year the event was held, St. Charles collected 327 pounds of medication from more than 300 people.
No questions will be asked. Individuals can drive through the parking lot and drop off medications right from their car window. Bend police officers will accept the medications, then give them to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to dispose of safely.
Any medications will be accepted. Liquids, pills, powders, patches, creams, prescriptions or over-the-counter medicines can be dropped off. Oncology medications will also be accepted.
Representatives from St. Charles pharmacy will also be on-site to answer questions.
About St. Charles Health System
St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, not-for-profit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 4,500 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.