BD Launches New Los Angeles County Program to Equip Patients with Essential Resources for Safe Sharps Disposal

"CARD Your Sharps" Initiative Offers Free Sharps Containers and Promotes Responsible In-home Disposal Options

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Feb 01, 2018, 06:59 ET

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, today launched a new LA County program to help ensure proper containment and disposal of household sharps, a health concern that when disposed of improperly could cause injury or spread infection according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency^{i ii}. The "Contain and Responsibly Dispose (CARD) Your Sharps" Initiative, provides essential resources to help patients throughout LA County safely discard their used household sharps.

The launch of the new BD "CARD Your Sharps" initiative provides patients with a new sharps containment device, at no cost, and directs them to the nearest sharps take-back location. Each year, nearly 9 million people with chronic conditions – such as allergies, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and others – administer 3 billion injections outside of health care facilities in places like their homes and workplacesⁱⁱⁱ. Sharps are considered medical devices and include needles, syringes and lancets. In California, used sharps are classified as home-generated sharps waste^iv and must be disposed of separately from household trash and recycling containers through one of the many available community based options.

The CARD Your Sharps Initiative targets critical interactions between patients and retail pharmacists at the point of sale to educate new and returning patients on the initiative. The program builds on patient-centric tools currently available through SafeNeedleDisposal.org, where patients can search for the most convenient local disposal options using their zip code. Through this BD program, patients who fill a prescription for any sharps, regardless of their supplier, can visit one of the more than 300 participating retail pharmacies throughout LA County starting February 8^th to receive an information sheet from their pharmacist that provides step-by-step instructions for responsible sharps disposal. Patients will also be directed to a new website, CARDYourSharps.com, where they can request to have a no-cost, FDA-cleared sharps container sent to their home.

"As a former American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) president, increasing access to educational resources that empower people to self-manage their condition is the foundation of our self-management education and support strategy," said Deborah Greenwood, PhD, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, FAADE, 2015 President, American Association of Diabetes Educators. "People with chronic conditions, like diabetes, have so much to worry about without having to deal with the burden of making sure the therapies they're taking to manage their treatment are disposed of correctly. Tailored education and access to free resources, like those provided through BD's new CARD Your Sharps Initiative, will play a significant role in increasing the convenience for people who use sharps – allowing them to spend their valuable time focusing on their health, and less time worrying about their disposal options."

Nabil Shabshab, worldwide president of Diabetes Care and Digital Health for BD said, "At BD, our purpose of advancing the world of health translates into bringing best in class innovations to our patients and augmenting them with services to empower them while lowering the burden of managing their disease. The CARD Your Sharps Initiative is yet another example of our commitment to provide critical resources for people living with diabetes and other chronic diseases. We're thrilled to offer a comprehensive program that provides practical solutions for patients including the ability to receive a no-cost, FDA-cleared sharps container for LA County residents in need, regardless of their sharps provider. The robust infrastructure of LA County made it the ideal region to start this initiative, and ultimately we hope to expand this effort through further collaboration with industry leaders."

For more information about the Card Your Sharps initiative visit CARDYourSharps.com.

About BD
BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 65,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help improve patient outcomes, improve the safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to better diagnose disease and advance researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care. In 2017, BD welcomed C. R. Bard and its products into the BD family. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com.

ⁱ 2018; FDA.gov; https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/HomeHealthandConsumer/ConsumerProducts/Sharps/default.htm. Accessed January 30, 2018
ⁱⁱ 2018; EPA.gov; https://www.epa.gov/rcra/medical-waste#sharps. Accessed January 30, 2018
ⁱⁱⁱ 2018; Safe Needle Disposal & NeedyMeds; https://safeneedledisposal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Sharps-Fact-Sheet-11.6.17.pdf. Accessed January 18, 2018
^iv April 24, 2015; Used Oil & Household Hazardous Waste Program, http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/HomeHazWaste/Sharps/. Accessed January 18, 2018