Nearly 50 pounds of unused and expired medication was collected Saturday, Oct. 24, during a prescription drug take-back event at HCA Florida DeFuniak Springs ER.
- HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital partnered with local law enforcement to host the Crush the Crisis event, which coincided with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The event gave residents an opportunity to safely and anonymously dispose of unneeded or expired medications.
Officers from the DeFuniak Police Department were on hand to anonymously collect tablets, capsules and patches of prescription opioids and other medications. Ointments, lotions, drops, liquid medication in leak-proof containers, vape cartridges without batteries and pet medication were also accepted.
“Unused medications can easily be forgotten in a cabinet or drawer, but safely disposing of them is an important step we can all take to keep our communities safer,” said Dr. Evgenia Slavcheva, Chief Medical Officer of HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital and HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital. “Through Crush the Crisis, we’re proud to give our community a safe, anonymous and convenient way to take that step and help create a healthier tomorrow for Northwest Florida.”
- According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an estimated 7.2 million people age 12 or older misused prescription pain relievers in 2025.
HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital said that while Florida has seen a significant decline in fatal drug overdoses, drug misuse remains a serious health issue. Florida recorded 5,501 fatal drug overdoses in 2024, including 3,820 opioid overdose deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The yearly collection is part of HCA Healthcare’s eighth annual national Crush the Crisis campaign. Since 2019, HCA Healthcare has helped safely dispose of more than 108,500 pounds of unused or expired medication through Crush the Crisis collections held at its hospitals and facilities around the country.
HCA Healthcare also uses data from approximately 47 million annual patient encounters to help reduce prescription drug misuse and transform pain management through initiatives in surgical, emergency and other care settings.
For more information, visit HCAhealthcare.com/crushthecrisis or call the Crush the Crisis hotline at 833-582-1970.
