National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem participated in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on October 28th. The day gave the community and employees the opportunity to dispose of old unused or unwanted prescription drugs in a safe, convenient and responsible manner.

The Bethlehem campus collected three boxes of drugs -- 55 pounds worth -- of drugs!

“Our aim was two-fold: One was to decrease the risk of opioid abuse in our community, and two was to provide a safe disposal method for medication so that our water supply is protected," said St. Luke's Vice President of Operations Kevin McGovern.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day initiative addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. Take Back day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths.

Media Contact:

Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network providing services at seven hospitals and more than 270 outpatient sites in the greater Lehigh Valley. The network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first and only regional medical school campus. Dedicated to advancing health education, St. Luke’s operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing and 23 graduate medical educational programs and is considered a major teaching hospital – the only one in its region. Repeatedly, including 2017, St. Luke’s earned Truven’s 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital and 50 Top Cardiovascular Program designations, in addition to other honors for clinical excellence. St. Luke’s is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of St. Luke’s information technology applications such as electronic medical records, telehealth, online scheduling and pricing information. St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.