HCA Healthcare Sets Record by Collecting 19,423 Pounds of Medication During Fourth Annual Crush the Crisis

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA), one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, today announced that it collected 19,423 pounds of unused or expired medications during its fourth annual “Crush the Crisis” national opioid take back day on October 29, 2022. It is the most HCA Healthcare has collected in this annual event, eclipsing the 15,566 pounds it collected last year. HCA Healthcare has now collected approximately 54,644 pounds of medication since launching “Crush the Crisis” in 2017.

“We are proud to announce the remarkable success of this year’s ‘Crush the Crisis’ events,” said Dr. Randy Fagin, chief medical officer of HCA Healthcare’s National Group. “Thanks to the participation of our colleagues and communities, alongside local law enforcement, we have helped to eliminate a record-breaking number of medications before they fall into the wrong hands.”

This year, all 15 HCA Healthcare U.S. divisions participated alongside local law enforcement in a “Crush the Crisis” opioid take back day to raise awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and the importance of proper disposal of unused or expired medications. An estimated 13.4 million doses of medication were collected at more than 100 collection sites across 17 states. HCA Healthcare’s “Crush the Crisis” events were held in alignment with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which collected 647,163 pounds of medication.

HCA Healthcare facility events with the greatest amount of medication collected this year include:

• The Medical Center of Aurora in Aurora, Colorado collected 770 pounds
• Medical City McKinney in McKinney, Texas collected 664 pounds
• Chippenham Hospital and Johnston-Willis Hospital in Richmond, Virginia collected 633 pounds
• Methodist ER Legacy Trails in San Antonio, Texas collected 608 pounds
• St. David’s Healthcare in Austin, Texas collected 564 pounds

As a learning health system, HCA Healthcare uses data from approximately 35 million annual patient encounters to help continuously improve care. The organization uses the science of “big data” to reduce opioid 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 up to a 44 percent decrease in opioid usage for targeted complex surgeries.

• 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.

About HCA Healthcare

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services comprising 182 hospitals and approximately 2,300 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. With its founding in 1968, HCA Healthcare created a new model for hospital care in the United States, using combined resources to strengthen hospitals, deliver patient-focused care and improve the practice of medicine. HCA Healthcare has conducted a number of clinical studies, including one that demonstrated that full-term delivery is healthier than early elective delivery of babies and another that identified a clinical protocol that can reduce bloodstream infections in ICU patients by 44%. HCA Healthcare is a learning health system that uses its more than 35 million annual patient encounters to advance science, improve patient care and save lives. Please click here to connect with HCA Healthcare on social media.

All references to “Company,” “HCA” and “HCA Healthcare” as used throughout this document refer to HCA Healthcare, Inc. and its affiliates.