Phoebe to host drug take-back event; COVID numbers below 20 in Albany

ALBANY — Phoebe Putney Health System will host a drug take-back event Saturday in conjunction with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with disposal locations in Albany, Americus and Sylvester, giving southwest Georgia communities the opportunity to safely and conveniently dispose of prescription drugs.

“Many times the person that becomes addicted to prescription drugs is not the person that has been prescribed the medication,” Phoebe General Surgeon Dr. Jason Langer said. “This event helps prevent pill abuse and remove potentially expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs from homes. Offering this event to the community provides not only a safe, convenient and responsible means for medication disposal but also an opportunity to educate our communities about the potential abuse of old and unused medications.”

Phoebe’s Drug Take Back Event is free, and no questions will be asked. All medication disposal locations will be accepting expired/unused narcotics/prescriptions as well as injectable medications, such as pre-loaded allergy and migraine medications or insulin needles, and any other prescription, veterinary or over-the-counter medications. To keep everyone safe, each of Phoebe’s sites will be a drive-up/through event and will follow COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Medication collection locations:

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital — Albany

Side parking lot on Jefferson Street, next to the parking deck and across from street from the old Albany Middle/High School

Phoebe Sumter Medical Center — Americus

Main hospital guest parking lot; enter campus from Highway 280

Phoebe Worth Medical Center — Sylvester

Main hospital entrance.

The DEA hosts National Take Back Days in April and October. Last fall, Americans turned in 985,392 pounds of medications (more than 490 tons). At Phoebe, a total of 400 pounds of medications were collected.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets make them vulnerable for accidents, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Phoebe officials lauded community partners in southwest Georgia who are helping to make the event possible: Georgia Department of Public Health, Albany/Dougherty Drug Unit, Albany State University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Americus Police Department and Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

The hospital system also announced Wednesday that its COVID-19 numbers remained well below the numbers that followed a post-Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years surge that saw daily numbers generally surpassing 100 patients for several weeks. On Wednesday, Phoebe reported 19 COVID patients at its facilities in Albany and three at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus.