The Salisbury office of Home Instead Senior Care has scheduled Operation Medicine Cabinet on Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. to help seniors dispose of expired or no-longer-used medications.
The event will be held at the Rufty-Holmes Senior Center on 1120 S. Martin Luther King Ave.
Members of the Salisbury Police Department will be on hand at the Rufty-Holmes Center to oversee the drop-off of medications into secure containers.
After the event, the medications collected will be disposed of by law enforcement.
Home Instead Senior Care, Rufty-Holmes Senior Center and the Salisbury Police Department are working together to offer this service to the community, along with many volunteers.
A gift bag will be given to each vehicle while supplies last.
“This program is a way to help protect seniors from accidentally using expired medications as well as safeguarding them from the potential for theft of medications from their homes,” said Jena Hare, co-owner of the Home Instead Senior Care Salisbury office.
“The project also can help protect the environment including pets and other animals by providing a safe way to dispose of prescription drugs before they are introduced into landfills or the water supply.”
The average senior takes four to six different prescriptions a day and refills their prescriptions 12 to 17 times a year, according to Arcadia Healthcare. Some 28 percent of geriatric hospitalizations are attributed to adverse reactions, the group said.
Operation Medicine Cabinet is a trademarked program of Home Instead Senior Care. For more information about the project, contact Robin Perry, community service director, at 704-636-2010. To learn more about Home Instead Senior Care, log on to www.homeinstead.com.