CVS Health Expands Safe Drug Disposal at CVS Pharmacy Locations in South Carolina to Help Combat Opioid Abuse

COLUMBIA, S.C., Jan. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) announced today that the company has expanded its safe medication disposal program to locations inside select CVS Pharmacy locations in South Carolina to help facilitate proper and timely disposal of opioids and other medications that could be diverted or misused if left in people's homes. Attorney General Alan Wilson, State Representative Chip Huggins and Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green attended the launch of the program at a Lexington CVS Pharmacy location.

"With a presence in nearly 10,000 communities across the country, we see firsthand the impact of the alarming and rapidly growing epidemic of opioid addiction and misuse," said Thomas M. Moriarty, Executive Vice President, Chief Policy and External Affairs Officer, and General Counsel, CVS Health. "Expanding our safe medication disposal efforts here in South Carolina is an extension of the initiatives in place across our company to fight the opioid abuse epidemic and fulfill our purpose of helping people on their path to better health."

The 22 new medication disposal units that will be installed inside CVS Pharmacy locations in South Carolina will supplement the nearly 24 units CVS Health has donated to police and sheriff departments across the state. Nationwide, the company has donated more than 800 units to police departments, collecting more than 125 metric tons, or 270,000 pounds of unwanted medication. 

"We know that opioids and other dangerous drugs often end up in the wrong hands after being taken out of parents' and grandparents' medicine cabinets," said Attorney General Wilson. "We appreciate CVS's efforts to help fight the opioid epidemic by giving people a safe and easy way to dispose of unwanted medications."

"Prescription drug abuse is a major public health epidemic in our state," said State Representative Chip Huggins, who is a member of the House Opioid Abuse Prevention Study Committee. "Programs like the one CVS Health is announcing today are integral in helping to avoid the diversion of unused prescription medicines, which can help reduce and prevent their misuse."

The expansion of safe medication disposal to a total of 750 CVS Pharmacy locations across the U.S. was included among the enhancements to the company's strategy to address and prevent opioid abuse announced in September 2017.  As part of that effort, the company also said it would enhance opioid utilization management aligned with the CDC Guideline for CVS Caremark clients and members, complementing measures already in place.  This work builds on ongoing programs the company operates including the Pharmacists Teach program, which brings CVS Pharmacists to local schools to talk to teens and parents about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs.  More than 300,000 teens nationally – including more than 4,000 in South Carolina – have already participated in the program.  CVS Health has also worked to expand access to the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone in 46 states, including South Carolina.

"We see the impact that opioid abuse has on our community every day," said Terrence Green, Chief of Police of the Lexington Police Department. "We commend CVS Health for this important step in helping combat the opioid epidemic by making it easier for this community and others throughout the state to dispose of their unused medicines."

The 22 new medication disposal units are being installed over the next several weeks at the following CVS Pharmacy locations:

About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its more than 9,700 retail locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 90 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com.

Media Contact:
Erin Shields Britt
Corporate Communications
(401) 770-9237
[email protected]

SOURCE CVS Health

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