REGION —  Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMC Health) will partner with local law enforcement to host National Drug Take Back Day collection sites throughout Westchester, Orange and Rockland counties on Saturday, April 27.

Community members can bring tablets, capsules, patches and other solid forms of prescription, over-the-counter and veterinary medications to the collection sites for proper disposal. There is no charge and the collection is anonymous.

At some locations, WMCHealth representatives and/or law enforcement will offer services such as car seat checks and NARCAN-use training, as well as health and wellness information.

*Collection sites will not accept syringes, needles or illicit drugs. Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original container. The cap must be tightly sealed to prevent leakage. 

A successful national program
National Drug Take Back Day is an effort of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). For more than a decade, the service has helped Americans easily rid their homes of unneeded medications—those that are old, unwanted or expired—as well as medications that become gateways to addiction. 

According to the DEA, National Drug Take Back Day has removed almost 9,000 tons of medication from circulation since its start.

WMC Health-hosted collection locations

Valhalla - WMCHealth Drive-Thru Center, 100 Woods Road 

Time: 10 AM – 2 PM 

Services provided: Drug takeback service by the Westchester County Police Department; car seat safety checks offered by the Westchester County Police Department; medication education by Westchester Medical Center Pharmacy Department

White Plains - Fountain Park, 200-202 Main Street, Renaissance Plaza

Time: 11 AM – 1 PM 

Services provided: Drug take service by the White Plains Police Department with drug disposal bags supplied by White Plains Youth Bureau; Medication education by Westchester Medical Center Pharmacy Department; Narcan training by the Westchester Medical Center Division of Psychiatry; Education from the Westchester Medical Center: Ally Care Center; stroke prevention, identification and care.

Port Jervis – Port Jervis Police Department - 20 Hammond Street

Time: 10 AM – 2 PM

Services provided: Drug take back service by Port Jervis Police Department; Naloxone training; Medication education by Westchester Medical Center Pharmacy Department

Services provided by Bon Secours Community Hospital/St. Anthony Community Hospital 

Suffern - Suffern Police Department - 61 Washington Avenue 

Time: 10 AM – 2 PM

Services provided: Drug take back service by Suffern Police Department; Medication education by Westchester Medical Center Pharmacy; Services provided by Good Samaritan Hospital.

About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with nine hospitals on seven campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 13,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. The Network has Level I (adult and pediatric), Level II and Level III trauma centers, the region’s only acute care children’s hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, skilled nursing, home-care services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. Today, WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated health care in the Hudson Valley.

For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow WMCHealth on Facebook.com/WMCHealth or Instagram.com/WMCHealth.