Prescription Drug Take Back Day in Oconto County

Oconto County — In conjunction with National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital is partnering with Bellin Health, Healthy Oconto County, Oconto Falls Police Department and Oconto County Sheriff’s Department to offer drive-thru, medication drop-off locations on Saturday, Oct. 29:

• HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital, 855 S. Main St., Oconto Falls, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Bellin Health Oconto Hospital, 820 Arbutus Ave., Oconto, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Lakewood Town Hall, 17181 Twin Pines Rd., Lakewood, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Gillett Police Department ,150 N. McKenzie Ave., Gillett, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Guidelines

All waste pharmaceuticals must be generated by a household – no businesses are allowed.

All sites will be drive thru only and we request persons stay in their vehicle. A volunteer will come to collect your items.

Bring: Prescription (controlled and non-controlled) and over-the-counter medications, ointments, patches, inhalers, non-aerosol sprays, creams, vials and pet medications. Vape pens or other e-cigarette devices (batteries removed).

Do not bring: Illegal drugs, needles/sharps, acids, aerosol cans, bio-hazardous materials (anything containing a bodily fluid or blood), personal care products (shampoo, soaps, lotions, sunscreens), household hazardous waste (paint, pesticides, oil, gas), mercury thermometers.

• Participants may dispose of medication(s) by removing the medication from its container and disposing of it directly into a disposal box or into a clear sealable plastic bag. Plastic pill containers should not be collected. Blister packages without the medications being removed are acceptable.
• Liquids will be accepted during this initiative. However, the liquids, creams and sprays must be in their original packaging and their weight evenly distributed within the boxes of collected solid prescription medications. Liquids without the original packaging will not be accepted.
• Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative and should not be placed in collection containers.

Community members are also reminded that many drug disposal boxes are open year-round.

Unused or expired medicine should never be flushed or poured down the drain as water reclamation facilities are not designed to remove all pharmaceuticals and trace amounts are showing up in rivers and lakes.

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About HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital
HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital serves Oconto Falls and the surrounding communities as a federally designated critical access hospital with a 24-hour emergency department; inpatient and outpatient surgical and diagnostic services; cancer care; therapy and rehabilitation; wound care; the Almost Home Swing Bed program; and more. It was founded as Oconto Falls City Hospital in 1921 and became HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in 2014 when it joined Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS). As an affiliate of HSHS, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital draws on the history of St. Francis of Assisi as it serves the health care needs of the region in Christ’s healing ministry, caring for all people. HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital also has five rural health center locations in affiliation with Prevea Health in Gillett, Lena, Mountain, Oconto Falls and Suring; and operates HSHS Pharmacies in Gillett and Oconto Falls, and HSHS Prescription Services (remote dispensing sites) in Lena, Mountain and Pulaski. In 2022, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital was named a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the U.S. by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. For more information about St. Clare, please visit: www.stclarememorial.org.

About Hospital Sisters Health System
Hospital Sisters Health System’s (HSHS) mission is to reveal and embody Christ’s healing love for all people through our high quality, Franciscan health care ministry. HSHS provides state-of-the-art health care to our patients and is dedicated to serving all people, especially the most vulnerable, at each of our 15 Local Systems and physician practices in Illinois (Breese, Decatur, Effingham, Greenville, Highland, Litchfield, O’Fallon, Shelbyville and Springfield) and Wisconsin (Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Oconto Falls, Sheboygan and two in Green Bay). HSHS is sponsored by Hospital Sisters Ministries and Hospital Sisters of St. Francis is the founding institute. For more information about HSHS, visit www.hshs.org. For more information about Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, visit www.hospitalsisters.org.