Prescription drop box now available in Ritzville at ACSO

Community members gathered at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) on Wednesday, May 3, to celebrate the Rural East Adams Coalition for Health’s (REACH) efforts in preventing prescription drug abuse.

The event included a ribbon cutting ceremony honoring the city’s new prescription drug disposal site.

A drop box for unused medications is located in the ACSO lobby at 210 West Broadway Avenue. The purpose of the drop box is to give community members the opportunity to safely dispose of prescription medications to prevent substance abuse, and pollution to the city’s landfills and water systems.

Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner began the ceremony by expressing appreciation for the efforts of the Adams County Health Department and the need for the disposal site from the law enforcement perspective.

Wagner emphasized the need for a drop box in the city as the department receives a lot of questions about where to dispose of medications.

He stated the disposal site is exciting for the department and the community in the fact it will prevent poisoning and reduce the dangers of having unused prescriptions in homes.

Jared O’Conner, health educator for Washington Poison Center, attended the event and spoke about the importance of the drop box in preventing unintended deaths in Washington.

O’Connor is also the administrator of Takebackyourmeds.org, a website dedicated to highlighting disposal locations in the state.

O’Conner stated an estimated 1,000 people visit the website a day to find disposal site locations.

“This is important because when you take a look at unintended deaths in Washington, poison is the number one reason people die. It is higher than motor vehicle accidents and around 85 percent of poisoning deaths occur because of prescriptions,” he explained.

Lind Mayor Jamie Schmunk said she believes the drop box will benefit many residents who are unaware of the proper way to dispose of medications to avoid polluting the water systems.

“I think it was a very thoughtful idea and I think that our communities in eastern Adams County will benefit greatly from it,” she concluded.

Ritzville Mayor Gary Cook expressed his appreciation for REACH and their efforts in preventing substance abuse in the county.

“It’s tremendous because it improves the quality of life to those citizens who do not know what to do and appreciation to you guys because of the city to be able to have it here,” said Cook.

Karen Potts said establishing disposal sites for unused medications has been a public health priority for several years since opioid abuse has become a national epidemic.

The department had wanted to establish a drop box in Ritzville and they received the funding through collaboration with the City of Othello and with the assistance of a Critical Access Hospital Network (CAHN) grant, she explained.

Connie Agenbroad, Administrator of Othello Community Hospital, recognized the lack of funding for a prevention coalition in eastern Adams County and encouraged the city to apply for the CAHN Grant in order to form REACH.

The drop box is the first project REACH has committed to and the members recognized it as a priority, said Potts.

Potts said there are specific guidelines for the location of the drop box and certain protections must be in place to ensure the medications are not stolen or tampered with.

The Sheriff’s Office met all the requirements and the officers already have experience assisting in transportation for the drop box in Othello, she explained.

The Health Department hopes the drop box provides a disposal site for unused medications, and also reduces the risk of substance abuse of prescription medications to youths.

Potts also hopes the drop box will reduce the access of dangerous medications to prevent unintended deaths by poison.

For those interested in becoming a member of REACH, contact the Health Department at 659-3320.