Prescription drug misuse remains a public health crisis nationwide. HCA Healthcare – known locally as MountainStar Healthcare – will partner with local law enforcement agencies on Saturday, Oct. 25 to host its seventh annual national “Crush the Crisis” prescription drug take back day event. Comprised of 191 hospitals and approximately 2,500 ambulatory sites of care, HCA Healthcare brings frontline solutions to curb the tide of prescription drug misuse and addiction in the communities it serves.
The 2025 event aligns with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
“Crush the Crisis drug take back day events like this one educate our communities about the risk of prescription drug misuse while providing a safe and anonymous way to dispose of medications that may be left over,” said Janet Zarndt, vice president of pharmacy services for MountainStar Healthcare. “As part of our commitment to serving Utahns, we are proud to provide a safe way for families to get unused and expired medications out of their homes.”
Zarndt spoke LIVE Wednesday about the event on FOX13’s The PLACE. Zarndt says a significant number of prescription drug addictions and overdose deaths come from individuals who access unused prescriptions of family and friends.
“Keeping unused pain medicine around in cabinets simply is not safe,” Zarndt added.
According to the American Medical Association, more than 70% of people who abuse prescription opioids get them from a friend or relative. Additionally, more than half of people who misuse opioid medications report:
o Obtaining them for free or stealing them from someone they know
o Going to multiple doctors to get additional prescriptions
o Filling prescriptions at different pharmacies so that no one will notice how many pills they get each month
16 million Americans over the age of 12 abuse prescriptions in a year, according to data from the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics.
Crush the Crisis locations
Thanks to the cooperation of local law enforcement agencies, MountainStar will provide 9 convenient drop off options located along the Wasatch Front on Saturday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Seven of the eight MountainStar hospitals will host drop-off locations:
Cache Valley Hospital
2380 N 400 E
North Logan, UT 84341
Ogden Regional Medical Center
5475 S 500 E
Ogden, UT 84405
Lakeview Hospital
630 Medical Drive
Bountiful, UT 84010
St. Mark’s Hospital
1200 E 3900 S
Salt Lake City, UT 84124
Lone Peak Hospital
11925 S State Street
Draper, UT 84020
Timpanogos Regional Hospital
750 W 800 N
Orem, UT 84057
Mountain View Hospital will host the event in partnership with and stationed at nearby Payson Market.
586 N Main Street
Payson, UT 84651
Two of the network’s six freestanding emergency centers will also participate: Herriman Emergency Center located at 13306 S Fort Herriman Parkway and Pleasant View Emergency Center, at 2690 N 600 W in Pleasant View.
The focus of the “Crush the Crisis” event is to collect:
· Tablets or capsules in any packaging
· Patches
· Medicated Ointments, location or drops
· Liquid medications (in leak-proof containers)
· Vape cartridges (without batteries)
· Pet medications
Items that will not be accepted include needles, syringes, lancets or illegal drugs.
The safest and most responsible option to dispose of medication is to take unwanted medications to a drug take back site or event. Unused medications thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or sold illegally. Flushing medications down the toilet pose a potential health and environmental hazard.
During last year’s October event, HCA Healthcare – in partnership with local law enforcement – collected 21,137 pounds of unused or expired medications across the country. It’s estimated 14.5 million doses of medication were collected at 125 collection sites nationwide.
Drug overdose deaths dropped in the U.S. in 2024 to the lowest levels seen in five years, according to a CDC report published in May. The provisional report from the CDC and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics found that nationwide drug overdose deaths fell from 110,037 in 2023 to 80,391 in 2024. Despite the sharp decline – the largest one-year decline ever recorded – any one overdose death is one too many.
Commonly misused prescription drugs
Three types of drugs are abused most often:
· Opioids—prescribed for pain relief
· Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants—barbiturates and benzodiazepines prescribed for anxiety or sleep problems (often referred to as sedatives or tranquilizers)
· Stimulants—prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the sleep disorder narcolepsy, or obesity.
Commonly prescribed opioids that you may have in your medicine cabinet include Oxycodone (Oxycontin), Hydrocodone (Vicodin), Codeine, Morphine, and Methadone. Synthetic opioids, including Fentanyl, are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths in the U.S. An estimated 80% of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids.
Opioid medications bind to the areas of the brain that control pain and emotions, driving levels of dopamine and producing an intense feeling of euphoria. As the brain becomes accustomed to the feeling, it often takes an increasing amount of the drug to produce the same levels of pain relief and well-being, which leads to dependence and, later, addiction.
Prescription drugs used for pain relief are generally safe when taken for a short time but can be misused by people taking medicine in a way or dose other than prescribed, taking someone else’s prescription medicine, and/or taking medicine for the high effect.
CNS depressants are medicines that include sedatives, tranquilizers, and hypnotics. These drugs can slow brain activity, making them useful for treating anxiety, panic, acute stress reactions, and sleep disorders. Common CNS depressants include Diazepam (Valium), Clonazepam (Klonopin), Alporazolam (Xanax) and Zolpidem (Ambien).
Prescription stimulants are medicines generally used to treat Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy—uncontrollable episodes of deep sleep. They increase alertness, attention, and energy. Common types of prescribed stimulants include Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine®), Dextroamphetamine/Amphetamine combination product (Adderall®), and Methylphenidate (Ritalin®, Concerta®).
Drug overdose deaths involving stimulants rose from 12,122 in 2015 to 59,725 in 2022.
Those in need of substance use disorder or addiction treatment can call the National Substance Abuse and Mental Health Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357). It is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-days-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.
Crushing the Crisis at MountainStar Healthcare hospitals
MountainStar Healthcare’s parent organization, HCA Healthcare, uses data from more than 44 million annual patient encounters to help continuously improve care. The organization uses the science of “big data” to reduce prescription drug misuse and transform pain management, with initiatives in surgical, emergency and other care settings, including:
- Enhanced Surgical Recovery (ESR): a multi-modal approach to pain management using pre-, intra- and post-operative interventions to optimize outcomes. HCA Healthcare’s ESR programs have demonstrated significant improvements in surgical recovery and patient satisfaction, including an up to 44% decrease in opioid usage for some surgeries.
- Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS): aims to stem increasing rates of prescription pain reliever-related addiction, misuse diversion and death by making it more difficult for medication-seekers to doctor-shop and alter prescriptions. Physicians have access to aggregated electronic health records, providing data that will allow them to prescribe opioids judiciously.
Ogden Regional Medical Center offers the only inpatient residential treatment program for addiction services that is affiliated with a hospital in Utah. The residential treatment program provides a level of care for patients after they successfully completed detox and are medically stable. To learn more about the program and others, click here.
For more information about this event and to find out where you can drop off your unused or expired prescriptions, visit HCAHealthcare.com/CrushTheCrisis or call the toll-free number (833) 582-1970.
