Poison Center schedules next Medication Cleanout events
The Texas Panhandle Poison Center (TPPC) recently announced its fall collection cycle
for Medication Cleanout, an important community program TPPC started in 2009. The fall collections will begin
Sept. 29 at the TTUHSC campus in Amarillo. Additional Medication Cleanout collections are scheduled for Oct. 13 in Lubbock and Oct. 27 in Abilene. The Abilene event coincides with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s drug
take-back day.
Medication Cleanout collections take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. However, TPPC Managing Director Jeanie Jaramillo-Stametz, Pharm.D., said volunteers are also needed to help set up prior to the collection and to continue logging medications after collection ends.
“Medication Cleanout cannot function without the assistance of volunteers, especially TTUHSC students, faculty and staff,” Jaramillo-Stametz stressed. “As always, we really need your help, so please consider participating as a volunteer.”
Jaramillo-Stametz said shifts are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. and from 1:45 to 5:45 p.m. Volunteers can sign up for one shift or both. Training is mandatory for all volunteers who have not previously participated and is scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on the day before the event at each campus.
“We strongly encourage even those who have volunteered before to attend the training,” Jaramillo-Stametz said. “For those who have not volunteered before, Medication Cleanout events are a lot of fun and a great learning and community service experience.”
Jaramillo-Stametz said volunteers can see firsthand the effect of non-adherence, overprescribing
and over-marketing and experience how grateful the community is for the opportunity
to properly dispose of their medications.
“Medication Cleanout also provides us with an opportunity to conduct research regarding unused medications in an anonymous fashion,” Jaramillo-Stametz said. “As the nation works to gain control of the opioid epidemic, we are learning the downstream effects of tighter regulations on substances such as hydrocodone.”
To date, TPPC has conducted 56 Medication Cleanout collections that have resulted in the appropriate disposal of more than 43,000 pounds of unused or unwanted medications and nearly 2,700 pounds of medical sharps.
Related Stories
Summer Program Introduces Medical Students to the Research Laboratory
Each year, approximately 100 first-year TTUHSC School of Medicine students — more than half of the Lubbock class — step out of the classroom and into the laboratory to spend part of their summer making unique discoveries through the Medical Student Summer Research Program (MSSRP).
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing Named Best Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program in Texas
The TTUHSC School of Nursing Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program has been ranked the No. 1 accelerated nursing program in Texas by RegisteredNursing.org.
TTUHSC Names New Regional Dean for the School of Nursing
Louise Rice, DNP, RN, has been named regional dean of the TTUHSC School of Nursing on the Amarillo campus.
Recent Stories
Summer Program Introduces Medical Students to the Research Laboratory
Each year, approximately 100 first-year TTUHSC School of Medicine students — more than half of the Lubbock class — step out of the classroom and into the laboratory to spend part of their summer making unique discoveries through the Medical Student Summer Research Program (MSSRP).
TTUHSC Researcher Awarded CPRIT Grant to Study Type of Pediatric Bone Cancer
CPRIT recently awarded a two-year, $198,822 grant to Balakrishna Koneru, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics at TTUHSC’s School of Medicine and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
From Classroom to Clinic: Building the Future of Speech-Language Pathology
The Clinical Experience Course in the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences program at TTUHSC provides students with hands-on, practical application of the theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom.
