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HCA Healthcare to host seventh annual “Crush the Crisis” national prescription drug take back day
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Today, we are proud to announce our seventh annual “Crush the Crisis” national prescription drug take back day on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. This year, HCA Healthcare facilities across the country will partner with local law enforcement to help communities safely and anonymously dispose of unused or expired medications at more than 140 collection sites.
Find a “Crush the Crisis” take back day event location near you at HCAhealthcare.com/CrushTheCrisis.
National drug overdose deaths decreased by nearly 27% in 2024 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, prescription drug misuse remains a public health crisis in the United States. Each year, in alignment with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, HCA Healthcare hosts “Crush the Crisis” events to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug misuse and the importance of proper disposal of unused or expired medications. Since 2019, HCA Healthcare has helped safely dispose of more than 88,000 pounds of unused or expired medication. This year marks another milestone in HCA Healthcare’s ongoing effort to reach 100,000 pounds of safely collected medications.
“Prescription drug misuse remains a pressing public health challenge. Crush the Crisis is about more than awareness — it’s about hope, action, and healing. Each year, we’ve stood alongside our communities, strengthening our commitment to prevention, education, and support as we work towards healthier futures for those we serve.”
Dr. Randy Fagin, senior vice president and chief quality officer of HCA Healthcare
Related article: HCA Healthcare collects record-breaking 21,137 pounds of medication during sixth annual “Crush the Crisis”
To help further curb the nation’s opioid crisis, HCA Healthcare proudly collaborates with and provides clinical insight to the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Action Collaborative on Combatting Substance Use and Opioid Crises. Drawing on data from its approximately 44 million annual patient encounters, HCA Healthcare uses the science of “big data” to help reduce prescription drug misuse and transform pain management, with initiatives in surgical, emergency and other care settings, including:
- Enhanced Surgical Recovery (ESR): a multi-modal approach to pain management using pre-, intra- and post-operative interventions to optimize outcomes. HCA Healthcare’s ESR programs have demonstrated significant improvements in surgical recovery and patient satisfaction, including decreases in opioid usage.
- Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS): aims to stem increasing rates of opioid-related addiction, misuse, diversion and death by making it more difficult for medication-seekers to doctor-shop and alter prescriptions. Physicians have access to aggregated electronic health records, providing data that will allow them to prescribe opioids judiciously.
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About HCA Healthcare
HCA Healthcare, one of the nation's leading providers of healthcare services, is comprised of 190 hospitals and more than 2,400 ambulatory sites of care, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. Our more than 300,000 colleagues are connected by a single purpose — to give patients healthier tomorrows.
As an enterprise, we recognize the significant responsibility we have as a leading healthcare provider within each of the communities we serve, as well as the opportunity we have to improve the lives of the patients for whom we are entrusted to care. Through the compassion, knowledge and skill of our caregivers, and our ability to leverage our scale and innovative capabilities, HCA Healthcare is in a unique position to play a leading role in the transformation of care.
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