Bring unused medication to HealthPartners and Park Nicollet clinics
Take-back boxes help reduce unused painkillers in community, keep medication out of water
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Patients can now bring unused medications to a HealthPartners or Park Nicollet clinic. Eleven clinics have boxes to dispose of medications including opioids.
“This program benefits our community in two important ways. First, it can reduce the number of pills in homes that can harm people or be misused. It can also keep medications out of our water system,” said Dana Slade, HealthPartners Director of Sustainability Programs.
The danger of unused medications
About one in three patients with an opioid prescription said they shared the medication with other people. About three out of four people who use heroin started with prescription painkillers. Medicines in the home are the second leading cause of accidental poisoning.
Experts say most treatment plants cannot remove medications from city water. If they are not disposed of properly the medications can harm the health of fish, frogs and other wild life. They can also end up in our drinking water.
Take back boxes are at the following clinics:
- HealthPartners Apple Valley Clinic
- HealthPartners Brooklyn Center Clinic
- HealthPartners Como Clinic
- HealthPartners Specialty Clinic in St. Paul
- HealthPartners Central Minnesota Clinic
- HealthPartners St Paul Clinic
- HealthPartners Woodbury Clinic.
- Park Nicollet Chanhassen Clinic
- Park Nicollet Eagan Clinic
- Park Nicollet Specialty Center in St. Louis Park
- Park Nicollet Wayzata Clinic
HealthPartners plans to add take-back boxes in more clinics in 2018.
About HealthPartners
Founded in 1957, the HealthPartners is the largest consumer-governed, non-profit health care organization in the nation. It is dedicated to improving the health of its members, patients and the community. HealthPartners serves more than 1.4 million medical and dental health plan members nationwide. Since its combination with Park Nicollet in 2013, its care system includes more than 1,700 physicians, 60 dentists, five hospitals, 52 primary care clinics, 21 dental clinics, 22 urgent care locations and numerous specialty practices in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. HealthPartners also provides medical education and conducts research through its Institute of Education and Research.