Addressing Pharmaceuticals In Our Water Systems

Recommendations for establishing communication with local hospice providers to educate the community about proper disposal

Provided by the Georgia Association for Water Professionals

Pharmaceuticals In Our Effluent

• An area of growing concern• We can’t fix the problem now but we can work to

reduce the load coming into to our plants • Address what you can and help prevent the practice

of flushing medications through education• GAWP has established a partnership with hospice

providers & developed a toolkit to assist

Hospice Disposal Mandate

• Required to destroy all controlled substances when a patient no longer requires the medication

• Drugs can not be donated due to potential contamination issues

• Disposal needs to be low cost, quick, safe, undisruptive, and legal

Pharmaceutical Disposal

• Hospice providers follow guidelines from the federal government:– Office of National Drug Control Policy– FDA publishes a flush list

• Contradicting messages have led some organizations to flush everything to ensure compliance

Why Flush?

• No cost• Quick• Eliminates concern over diversion

(abuse/illegal sales)• Prevents accidental poisoning• Unaware of concerns associated with flushing

Partnership with GHPCO

GHPCO – GA Hospice & Palliative Care Organization• Member organization for hospice industry

(like GAWP for water industry)• Actively working across GA, reaching local

hospice providers with education & advocacy • Partnering with GAWP to discourage flushing

Reaching Out to Hospice

GAWP’s Hospice Tool Kit for water utilities:

• Pharmaceutical Disposal Fact Sheet• Pharmaceutical Disposal Method• Proper Drug Disposal Presentation• Pharmaceutical Disposal How-to Video• Call for Volunteers

Establishing A Partnership

• Visit GHPCO’s online provider list to locate providers operating in your jurisdiction

• Contact the Director of Nursing

• Offer to facilitate an education session on proper drug disposal for their staff

Hospice Buy-in

Hospice providers have internal incentive to accept your offer to educate staff:• Required to conduct internal periodic reviews of their

drug disposal policy• Pharmaceutical disposal policy must be provided to all

patients• Drug disposal is part of the state license review process

covered by during recertification

What is an Education Session?

• Ask to be scheduled on their education calendar– Most hospice providers conduct monthly sessions– Ask how many people to prepare for – Ask if you need to bring a laptop and projector– Education sessions are typically 30-60 minutes– Verify how much time you have for this presentation

• GAWP has developed a presentation & materials to share with hospice staff

Needed to Facilitate…

• AV Equipment• Proper Drug Disposal for Hospice Presentation • Copies of Fact Sheet, Disposal Method &

Feedback Forms• Example of Pharmaceutical Disposal Kit

Another Partnership Opportunity

• Hospice is required to use volunteers• Water Utilities can help with volunteer recruitment

by promoting this opportunity with staff– GAWP has developed a call for volunteers that member

utilities can use to help promote assisting local hospice providers

Volunteers Needed

Local hospice providers are seeking support from the community to help patients and families receiving hospice care. Did you know hospice providers are mandated by law to have 5% of patient care hours provided by volunteers? Volunteer activities such as visiting with (reading, crafting) or providing a service for (dog walking, yard work) patients are truly appreciated by patients and families facing life-limiting illness. Hospice providers are also specifically looking for veterans to visit with veterans receiving hospice care.

Local water utilities are being encouraged by the Georgia Association of Water Professionals to reach out to local hospice providers as part of our industry’s ongoing efforts to educate about proper pharmaceutical disposal practices. With Hospice’s ongoing need for volunteers, water utilities have a unique opportunity to partner with hospice organizations to encourage water protection practices and provide support to those in our community in need of help.

Take a minute to consider what you could do to assist. To find a hospice provider in your area, visit www.ghpco.org and click on the find care link. You will see a list by region of organizations you can contact. Insert your utility here is working with Insert your hospice partner organization here. If you are interested in volunteering with them, contact insert contact’s name/phone/email here.

Help GAWP Start A Movement

• While these materials were developed for hospice, they are appropriate for the general public

• GAWP has applied to receive endorsement from the GA Board of Pharmacy for these materials

• Help your customers take responsible action to prevent pollution locally