Astria Health is pleased to announce the placement of a new sharps disposal box for the community to safely dispose of used lancets, razors, and needles. The new, bright red box is located just outside the emergency room entrance at Astria Sunnyside Hospital.
The sharps disposal box was established to give the community a safe and convenient way to dispose of syringes, razor blades, needle tips and lancets to help protect against accidental injury and reduce the spread of bloodborne pathogens. “Our goal was to create an opportunity to safely and securely dispose of used needles, razors, and lancets, particularly for those people who do not have personal sharps disposal containers at home,” said Elizabeth Jensen, Astria Health System Director of Pharmacy.
Jensen and Jody Shively, RN, Astria Sunnyside Hospital Department Director, found a creative way to address the concern by establishing a safe and secure disposal box for residents to use by repurposing a former unused medication disposal box. “It is critical that sharps are disposed of properly so that they do not become a potential risk for injury and biohazard exposure,” said Jensen. She continued, “we recognized that there was a need for secure disposal of these items to increase public safety.” Unused medications and drugs can still be discretely disposed of safely at Astria Health’s boxes located inside the lobby at both Astria Sunnyside Hospital and Astria Toppenish Hospital emergency departments.
Astria Health is proud to support our communities in practical ways. This sharps disposal box is a positive and practical example of that community support. “The public sharps disposal box plan was implemented immediately after the need was presented by our department leaders,” said Brian Gibbons, President and CEO of Astria Health. “We have an extraordinary team here at Astria Health,” he continued, “we do our best to address it right away.”
Astria Health, headquartered in the heart of the Yakima Valley, is a non-profit healthcare system based in Eastern Washington. Astria Health is the parent organization of Astria Sunnyside Hospital and Astria Toppenish Hospital, along with 20 outpatient clinics offering primary care and specialty services, including but not limited to behavioral health, home health and hospice, neurosurgery, oncology, podiatry, rehabilitation therapy, orthopedics, and sleep medicine. For more information, visit www.astria.health.
Posted October 26, 2023
