PharmD students promote safe disposal of medications at Drug Take Back Day

By Samantha Rzeszut

Published November 9, 2023

On October 28, PharmD students from the University at Buffalo (UB) School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS) worked to improve the health and safety of our local community during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

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Drug Take Back Day offers a convenient and responsible means of disposing prescription drugs and educates the public on the safe handling of unused or expired drugs. This biannual event is a collaborative effort among the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), local police departments, licensed pharmacists and the Pharmacists Association of Western New York (PAWNY).

Students were stationed at two local sites: DeGraff Memorial Hospital and Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital. They assisted community members in disposing their unwanted medications and handed out flyers about medication safety and proper drug disposal methods using drug disposal pouches.

The first Western New York drug take-back event took place in 2009 and was pioneered by Karl Fiebelkorn, former SPPS senior associate dean, Chris Jadoch, PharmD’87 and Cheryll Moore, medical care administrator, Erie County Board of Health. The 2009 event was used as a framework for the current National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

Those who missed the event can search for year-round drug disposal locations on the DEA website.

SPPS Drug Take Back Day 2023 at DeGraff Memorial Hospital.

DeGraff Memorial Hospital site

L-R, back row: DEA agents, Daniel Kurowski, PharmD/MBA’26, Eric Raine, PharmD/MBA’25, DEA agent and Town of Tonawanda Police Officer

L-R, front row: Brianna Bialy, PharmD/MBA’25, Shelby Chan, PharmD/MBA’25 and Helen Yeun, pharmacy supervisor at Kaleida Health

SPPS Drug Take Back Day 2023 at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital.

Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital site

L-R: Tino Deemer, PharmD’27, Barry Martin, BS’81,  pharmacy director, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Emily Marcone, PharmD’27, Karl Fiebelkorn, BS ‘78, Dimah Alani, PharmD’27, Christopher Yau, PharmD’26 and Amherst Police Officer 

For over 135 years, the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has continually been a leader in the education of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, renowned for innovation in clinical practice and research. The school is accredited by the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education and is the No. 1 ranked school of pharmacy in New York State and No. 14 in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.