Pharmaceutical Disposal In the News
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center is ahead of the compliance curve as states pass laws for pharmaceutical waste disposal
Englewood, NJ & LAKE FOREST, Ill., April 14, 2010 – Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (www.englewoodhospital.com) today announced a new program that is helping it stay ahead of state and federal compliance measures when managing its pharmaceutical waste.
The need to understand safe and compliant methods of disposal is more important than ever. In 2009, at least 10 states passed or were discussing pharmaceutical waste legislation. In January, Illinois adopted the Safe Pharmaceuticals Disposal Act while New York & California have “no-flush” laws in place. Other states, including the state of New Jersey, have pending legislation. In 2009, five bills were introduced at the federal level to regulate drug disposal.
The Associated Press two years ago reported the detection of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water that serves 41 million Americans. This result may not seem surprising when one considers that between 1993 and 2009, more than 1,500 drugs were approved by the FDA, and that hospitals are large users of pharmaceuticals for patient care. The average hospital pharmacy formulary contains between 2,000 and 5,000 drugs.
“As a community hospital, our role is to ensure the health and well-being of our patients and their families,” said Jeff Nemeth, Pharmacy Director of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. “Our partnership with Stericycle’s Pharmaceutical Waste Compliance program will allow us to properly comply with state and federal regulations resulting in a positive, long-term impact for our local environment."
In effect for more than three decades, laws like the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) gave the EPA authority to regulate hazardous materials, including pharmaceutical waste. There are also 21 Joint Commission Standards that drive hospital leaders to continue identifying best practices that minimize the impact of pharmaceuticals on the nation’s public water supply.
“Disposal of medical waste requires careful attention,” said Larry Garcia, Director of Environmental Services at Englewood Hospital. “Waste must be properly characterized, segregated, transported and documented. Stericycle offers a user-friendly and environmentally sound approach to pharmaceutical waste disposal.”
About Englewood Hospital and Medical Center
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center provides patients with a broad range of state-of-the-art clinical programs and the most advanced treatments and diagnostic services. It is among the four percent of hospitals nationwide honored with the prestigious Magnet nursing award, a distinction that has been earned twice by its nursing staff. It is also renowned for its bloodless medicine and surgery program, cardiac and vascular programs and its leadership in breast care, oncology and joint replacement services. Through its affiliation with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Mount Sinai Consortium for Graduate Medical Education, this acute-care and community teaching hospital trains medical residents in a variety of disciplines, including surgery, pediatrics, podiatry, pathology and critical care medicine. Visit www.englewoodhospital.com.
About Stericycle
Lake Forest, IL-based Stericycle (NASDAQ: SRCL) is a leader in healthcare-related services that protect people and reduce risk. With more than 440,000 customers worldwide, Stericycle has operations in North America, Europe, and Latin America. Visit www.stericycle.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control (for example, general economic conditions). Our actual results could differ significantly from the results described in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include changes in governmental regulation of medical waste collection and treatment and increases in transportation and other operating costs, as well as the other factors described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, past financial performance should not be considered a reliable indicator of future performance, and investors should not use historical trends to anticipate future results or trends. We make no commitment to disclose any subsequent revisions to forward-looking statements.
Contact: Kellee Johnson, The Ballast Group, 312-751-3959 or kjohnson@ballastgroup.com