Lenawee County Health Department

Aug

2022

WLEN Interview with Lenawee County Health Department Health Educator Becky Selenko

Woman’s Voice: The Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition is a diverse group of dedicated community members united around the goal of reducing substance use in Lenawee County. LSAPC members work collaboratively to engage and educate the community in order to promote a healthy Lenawee.

Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me on tonight’s program is Becky Selenko. And Becky is a health educator with the Lenawee County Health Department. And we’re going to be talking about medication lock bags. Becky, thanks for joining me for tonight’s program.

Becky Selenko: Thanks for inviting me.

Kathy Williams: So medication lock bags, what are they?

Becky Selenko: So, medication lock bags that we have been giving out are basically like a little like pouch that has a lock on it that can be personally configured, so that, to a combination that you remember, and then you can store your either marijuana or prescription drugs or that type of thing in them to keep them away from kids and pets.

Kathy Williams: I like the fact that it is the combo lock. Not a key I could lose.

Becky Selenko: Correct. Now you just have to remember the combo, right?

Kathy Williams: Yeah. True. Well, it’s only three numbers, right?

Becky Selenko: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: So, Becky, how did you come to be in possession of all these lock bags?

Becky Selenko: So, the Health Department applied for a medical marijuana grant through the State of Michigan. And through those funds that we received, we were able to purchase 2000 of these lock bags.

Kathy Williams: That is a lot, but I’m sure they’re probably going quickly. What should I put inside of them then?

Becky Selenko: Well, they could hold anything really that you want to keep away from kids and pets, whether it be prescription medications, medical, marijuana, recreational marijuana, or even over the counter pills that you’re concerned about. So any of those type of things would be appropriate for the lock bag.

Kathy Williams: So, there’s probably a few opportunities to actually get a lock bag. How can I find one?

Becky Selenko: Absolutely. Through the health department we’ve been going to different outreach events this summer. So we’ve been handing them out there. We also will be at the Day of HOPE that the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition is sponsoring at the end of August. So, we’re just trying to get out in the community. I’ve also been working with the local marijuana dispensaries to give them out to clients there.

Kathy Williams: Now, that’s great that they’re collaborating with you to help hand out the bags, because it is important sometimes to have what you need where you’re already at. And that’s, we were talking a little bit about that off-air is that, you’re trying to go where there are larger groups of people that will be able to, you know, take advantage of the bags that you have.

Becky Selenko: Exactly. I mean, it’s been a great partnership with those stores, just because, like you said, these are people that are already clients that are going there to purchase it. So if they just can leave with a lock bag and don’t have to think about picking one up, then it, you know, kind of checks that box off of their list.

Kathy Williams: Yeah. Now, if they don’t have a lock bag, though, we do want to remind them about some other places that they can take expired medication.

Becky Selenko: Oh, sure, absolutely. In the county we have red barrels, which are at local police and sheriff departments. There’s the Drug Take-Back Day, which happens twice a year in April and October. There’s also a disposal bin at Meijer pharmacy, as well as ProMedica ER, and then the Substance Abuse Coalition has the Deterra pouches, which safely deactivates the medication so that it can be thrown away in the household trash.

Kathy Williams: One of the biggest reasons that we want to promote the Lock it Up campaign is to hopefully help deter our younger adults and children from getting their hands on things they shouldn’t.

Becky Selenko: Absolutely. In the State of Michigan, they’ve seen an uptick in the number of calls to the Poison Control Center since recreational marijuana became legal in Michigan. So, they really want to get the word out, or we really want to get the word out that if you have, you know, items that may look like food or candy to young children that you want to, you know make sure you keep that locked up so they don’t have access to it.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. Now you do go to different events, you were saying that you’re trying to get to the farmer’s markets even.

Becky Selenko: Yes. I was just at the Adrian Farmer’s Market last, this past weekend and try to get to Tecumseh about once a month, just to kind of hit those areas where people are out and about and engage with the community.

Kathy Williams: Right. Well, I think it’s an important message of course, to get out and, a really nice bag. I mean, it looks like it would do the job.

Becky Selenko: Yeah, absolutely. We’ve been happy with the size of it and also kind of how it works. It’s simple, but it’s also, you know, provides protection, So…

Kathy Williams: Yeah. Very effective. Yeah. Becky, if people are interested in finding out more about the bags or talking to you directly, how can they get ahold of you?

Becky Selenko: Sure they can call me at the Health Department at my phone number is (517) 264-5253.

Kathy Williams: That’s “Becky Selenko” that you’re want to ask for.

Becky Selenko: Correct.

Kathy Williams: And Becky, we also, you and I talked that you would be interested in speaking at some service clubs and other, you know, large gatherings. If people are interested in having you come in as a guest speaker.

Becky Selenko: Sure. That would be, that’d be great. We’re just doing everything we can to kind of get the word out about, you know, lock it up. That’s the safe way to handle your prescription drugs and marijuana.

Kathy Williams: And these are available to anyone in Lenawee County is the other thing we want to make sure our listeners know that it’s not just Adrian and Tecumseh. So, you know, we’re encouraging people, even if they don’t need the bag themselves, if they know someone else who should, then maybe get it for them.

Becky Selenko: Yeah, absolutely. A lot of times grandkids may spend time with their, you know, grandparents who, you know… It’s something to think about for the whole family, not just the adults in the family.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. You know, it might be also helpful for someone who maybe is a caregiver and sometimes you have clients that are possibly overmedicating themselves. This would be a great way to secure those.

Becky Selenko: Yes, absolutely. And the nice part about the bag is that it’s big enough to hold quite a few items, but then it can also be, can also travel too. So that’s another plus of it.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. Well, we want to remind people then they can go to the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition Facebook page, and also get more information on the website, DrugPreventionLenawee.com. Becky, is there anything else you’d like to add? It’s all about education.

Becky Selenko: It is all about education. You’re right. Just that we’re trying to, you know, keep kids and our pets safe in our community. So, this is just one of the things that we’re trying to do at the Health Department.

Kathy Williams So there you go. Thank you so much.

Becky Selenko: Thank you.

Woman’s Voice: Thank you for listening. This information has been provided by the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. Supported by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. New messages air on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:15 p.m. You can listen to this program as a podcast under the audio tab on WLEN.com and listen and gather more information at DrugPreventionLenawee.com.

Apr

2021

WLEN Community Conversation with Lenawee County Health Officer Martha Hall and Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier

Show the Transcript.

Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me for Community Conversation tonight is Martha Hall, she is the Health Officer with the Lenawee County Health Department, and Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier. Welcome to both of you!

Sheriff Bevier: Thank you for having us.

Martha Hall: Yes, thank you very much, Kathy.

Kathy Williams: You’re very welcome. So, we’re going to talk about one of the important things that isn’t necessarily top-of-mind for everyone. But, the safe disposal of prescription drugs. You know, everything is so easily accessible and we are always concerned about family members and of course, people taking illegal drugs as well. But we want to talk about, you know, what’s happening in our community. Troy, you want to kick things off?

Sheriff Bevier: I absolutely would love to kick things off. So, interestingly, I do get quite a few questions when I’m out in the community about this. People, word has gotten out that the Sheriff’s Office is one of the many locations in Lenawee County that offers the Big Red Barrel. Where you can bring in unused or used prescription drugs and you can drop them off in our Big Red Barrel and we will then safely dispose of it. So that along with our Drug Take-Back Day is huge for the community to give them a place to take those drugs to keep them out of hands of family members who may abuse them and out of hands of little children and things like that. We’re very glad to be able to provide that service and we’ll continue to do so.

Kathy Williams: And, Martha, are there other opportunities, other locations, for drug disposal?

Martha Hall: There actually, there are several other opportunities for disposal here in Lenawee County. At several of our police departments throughout the county. So, Adrian Police Department, Blissfield, Hudson, Morenci, Raisin Township, Hudson. So those are some other locations where we have the Big Red Barrels. And then additionally, ProMedica has the MedSafe kiosk which is located in their emergency department.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Martha Hall: So we have several opportunities here in Lenawee County to be able to dispose of drugs on a regular basis. And then of course the opportunity that we have taking place on April 24^th is yet another opportunity for us to be able to dispose of those unwanted or unused medications. And to be able to dispose of some items that we can’t normally dispose of through the Big Red Barrel program.

Kathy Williams: Well, and I know some people think “oh, it’s just the hardcore drugs that I need to take care of properly,” but it’s really everything, any kind of medication, including those for your pets. We’re trying to keep them out of landfills, trying to keep them out of… don’t flush them down the toilet anymore, keep them out of the water systems and such. It might seem like a small thing, but when everybody’s doing it, it becomes a big thing.

Martha Hall: Yeah, very true. You know, so in addition to the fact that we want to be able to keep drugs out of the hands of individuals that they were not prescribed for, we also want to protect our environment. So, you know, doing proper disposal is really key.

Kathy Williams: Yep, yeah. Troy, you’ve probably been involved in Drug Take-Backs in the past. What kind of response do you usually get for those?

Sheriff Bevier: You know, we at the Sheriff’s Office have been involved in this for many many years in combination with ProMedica. We go way back. And I was talking to the under-sheriff, and he’s been involved in it for many many years and teaming up with DEA because the drugs have to go somewhere safely so we have a partnership with the DEA to get rid of those. Yeah, and you talk about a big problem: last year, unfortunately with COVID we did not have a Drug Take-Back so we’ve got to believe that there are quite a bit of drugs out there that people want to get rid of and dispose of safely. Going way back, so we pulled a little bit of information and in 2017 there was 483 pounds of drugs that were disposed of safely through the Drug Take-Back system: Drug Take-Back Day. The following year it wasn’t quite so big, it was 380 lbs, it kinda went down. So that might tell us that people are disposing of their unused, unwanted drugs. It was 300 lbs in 2019 and we know last year there were none. So we’re looking forward to a big year this year to make sure that we get rid of that again to help the environment and keep everyone safe.

Kathy Williams: Martha, can you explain to our listeners what they need to do as far as bringing their drugs to a take-back or to a disposal site?

Martha Hall: Certainly. So for the Drug Take-Back event that will be on April 24^th at the ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital, and that’s located at 5640 North Adrian Highway. Individuals will just follow the signage after they get out to the hospital. They are able to dispose of over-the counter medications, prescription medications, pet medications. All of those will be accepted as well as sharps, medications that are liquids, ointments, and inhalers. Those are things we’re not always able to accept. That’s really something that can happen twice a year when we’re doing these take backs through partnership with ProMedica. Everyone should leave the medications in the original containers if that’s possible and then just mark out their personal information.

Kathy Williams: And I even recall that I did take part in a Drug Take-Back before. And I hadn’t mark out my stuff so they marked it out when I got there. But it does make it easier if you mark it out yourself in advance. Troy, we were talking earlier as part of a committee that our goal this year is 500 lbs.

Sheriff Bevier: That would be a very good goal. I think you might make that. You would definitely break the 483 lbs take-back in 2017. So…

Kathy Williams: Yep. And I know we’re going to be doing some videos and some Facebook Live stuff kinda showing how easy it is to do a drug take-back. But you know, when you have a family member maybe who is in and out of prescriptions, and you have the one now that they can’t take anymore, I mean it helps to put it in a box and save it for a Drug Take-Back, get it out of the way when they’re not narcotics, so to speak. I mean, if they’re narcotics, you want to get rid of them right away. But I have people that have been on different kinds of antibiotics and stuff and then like that one’s not working or we’re going to switch to this, and low-and-behold you have five days left. You know, what do you do with it?

Sheriff Bevier: And expired medication. A lot of times people have expired medication at home, and they just want to know how can they get rid of it safely. So, we here at the Sheriff’s Office see people coming in and bringing in bags of medication and disposing of them in the Big Red Barrels. So, all of this little bit helps. And it helps the environment, it keeps people safe, and it helps to make the community a safer place. So that’s what we’re all about.

Kathy Williams: Exactly, exactly. And it’s an educational thing too. I know there’s lots of information about what they can do. So I know that the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition has DrugPreventionLenawee.com. It’s a great site to go to. They’re also on Facebook too and they’ll have information as far as the Drug Take-Back and different programs that are available for any kind of drugs or alcohol-type issues.

Martha Hall: Yeah, certainly. There’s a wealth of information that is available there at the DrugPreventionLenawee.com and would really encourage individuals to just go there and just learn about some of those opportunities here in Lenawee County to be able to help with prevention in our community. You know, one of the things with the drugs is that individuals tend to hold onto them. You know, somebody gets a prescription, and you know, like you mentioned, maybe it was an antibiotic prescription and they had to try a couple of different ones or they weren’t able to take a prescription for some reason. We don’t want to hold onto those and save them for another time.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Martha Hall: We want to be able to get them out of circulation. You know, either if you’ve got them sitting around right now, let’s get them to this Drug Take Back event on April 24^th. And on a regular basis, we have so many opportunities in our communities to be able to get those disposed of. We know as far as opioids, 52% of individuals that misused opioids in Lenawee County indicated that they got them a family member or a friend. So if we have medications that we aren’t using, let’s get them out of circulation. Let’s keep our community safe. And making sure that they’re disposed of properly, again, it protects our environment. Also you know, young children that have the potential to be to you know, get a hold of some medication that they shouldn’t. So I encourage everybody. Take a look at what you’ve got going in your medicine cabinet. If there are items in there that are expired, whether they’re over the counter, whether they’re prescription, if you have things that are expired or you are no longer using that medication, let’s get them to the Drug Take-Back Day and let’s try to meet that 500 lbs. goal. I would love to see that happen.

Kathy Williams: I would too. I would too. And so the Drug Take-Back is on April 24^th. It’s a Saturday, it’s going to be going on from 10 o’clock until 2 o’clock. And there’s gonna be goody bags that they’re going to give out that will have some great little tchotchkes in them, and a chance to win a $200 sweepstakes prize too, so if you enter a little sweepstakes. So you know, Sheriff Troy Bevier I appreciate your time today and Martha Hall. Thank you so much for all you’re doing to help get Lenawee County into a better situation and helping with the Drug Take-Back.

Sheriff Bevier: Thank you very much, Kathy and WLEN for being a partner with us, and we appreciate that.

Martha Hall: Yes, thank you very much.