Ralphs, Cardinal Health, and DisposeRx® to Host Drug Take Back Event on Saturday, April 22, 2023 in Southern California

LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ralphs/Kroger Health, the healthcare division of The Kroger Co. family of pharmacies, Cardinal Health, and DisposeRx®, will host Drug Take Back Day, where patients can responsibly dispose of prescription medications on Saturday, April 22, 2023.

The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics reports that 16.3 million Americans misuse prescription drugs annually and over 96,000 Americans lose their lives to drug overdoses. While prescription drug abuse has declined by nearly 14% since 2015, much still needs to be done to help people get rid of unwanted or unused medications.

"Ralphs and our affiliated brands work diligently to provide expert and credible care to customers every single day. We prioritize the safe disposal of unused or expired prescription and nonprescription drugs to protect the welfare of our local communities, and create healthier environments for everyone," said Dr. Linh Lee, director of health & wellness/pharmacy for Ralphs Pharmacy. "Ralphs' pharmacists are excited to again collaborate across our communities with local law enforcement, Cardinal Health and DisposeRx, by providing safe and convenient locations to dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs on the DEA's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day."

"At Cardinal Health, we're dedicated to building safe and healthy communities nationwide," said Jessie Cannon, vice president of Community Relations for Cardinal Health. "We remain committed to fighting prescription medication misuse and providing opportunities for communities to properly dispose of unused medications safely."

In the Southern California area, Drug Take Back events are scheduled on Saturday, April 22 from 10am to 2pm. Local law enforcement officers will be onsite to accept unused or expired pills, liquids, gels and patches. *Acceptance of liquids, gels, and patches may vary by location.

Locations include:

• Culver City Police Department at 4040 Duquesne Ave. Culver City, CA 90232
• Hoag Hospital at 16405 Sand Canyon Ave, Irvine, CA 92618
• Leisure World Seal Beach at 13533 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach, CA 90740
• Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station at 26201 Golden Valley Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91350
• South Pasadena Police Department at 1422 Mission St., South Pasadena, CA 91030

For more information about Ralphs Pharmacies' support of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day visit http://www.ralphs.com/takebackday.

"DisposeRx is in this fight, on the front lines every single day, and we commend Ralphs/Kroger Health for their commitment to health and safety and for their efforts to educate citizens about the dangers associated with prescription drug misuse," said William Simpson, president and chief executive officer, Dispose Rx. "We are proud to continue our work with Kroger Health, to support their prevention efforts and build collaborations throughout the country promoting family safety."

Ralphs and affiliated brands are providing customers with more access to safe and eco-friendly ways to dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs, including free DisposeRx at-home disposal packets for customers taking qualifying prescription drugs.

"Recent data shows that 31% of high school seniors indicate misusing prescription drugs at least once in the past 12 months. Most people misuse prescription medications obtained from a friend or family member's medicine cabinet, which is why we ensure that our prevention efforts have a focus on both adults and young people. It will take all of us – pharmacies, educators, parents, coaches, and community members – working together to ultimately reduce the number of overdose deaths across our nation," Simpson added.

Ralphs/Kroger Health, in collaboration with Cardinal Health, has hosted drug take back events across the U.S. since 2018. To date, they have collected more than 128,000 pounds of unused and unwanted medication for safe disposal during Drug Take Back events and served more than 58,000 visitors. To view the complete list of Kroger Health Drug Take Back event locations across the country, visit https://www.kroger.com/health/pharmacy/prescriptions/takeback. 

About Kroger Health:
Kroger Health, the healthcare division of The Kroger Co., is one of America's leading retail healthcare organizations. Kroger Health and the Kroger Family of Pharmacies and clinics operate more than 2,200 pharmacies and 226 clinics in 35 states serving more than 17 million customers annually. Our team of 24,000 healthcare practitioners, including pharmacists, nurse practitioners, dietitians and technicians, believe in practicing at the top of our licenses, enabling "food as medicine" to help prevent disease before it starts, and helping people live healthier lives. For more information, visit www.kroger.com/health

About Ralphs:
Ralphs Grocery Company is dedicated to our purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit™. We are more than 18,000 associates serving customers in 184 supermarkets across Southern California. From the company's headquarters in Los Angeles County, Ralphs is a recognized leader in community service and giving. The company supports Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste initiative aimed at ending hunger in our communities and eliminating waste within our company by the year 2025. Ralphs is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., (NYSE: KR), one of the world's largest retailers, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more about Ralphs, please visit our website at www.ralphs.com.

About Cardinal Health:
Cardinal Health is a distributor of pharmaceuticals, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products, and a provider of performance and data solutions for healthcare facilities. With 50years in business, operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 44,000 employees globally, Cardinal Health is essential to care. Information about Cardinal Health is available at cardinalhealth.com.

About DisposeRx, Inc.
DisposeRx, Inc., a North Carolina-based company, is dedicated to decreasing the risks of drug diversion, overdoses, suicides, accidental poisonings and antibiotic resistance by facilitating medication management behavior change and eradicating the misuse of leftover medications. DisposeRx's market-leading, patented drug disposal packets and education programs are currently available at 60% of retail pharmacies and through 90% of the wholesale pharmacy and medical distributors across the nation. For more information, visit DisposeRx.com.

Contacts:
Sunny Reelhorn Parr
Director, Corporate Affairs, Ralphs | Food 4 Less
[email protected]

Cardinal Health Media:
Victoria Simmons
PR Manager
[email protected]

DisposeRx Media: 
Aaron Hawkins
Digital Marketing Manager,
[email protected]
919-897-5542

SOURCE Ralphs Grocery Company