Dispose of Your Old Meds Safely

Most people don't realize that the most common place teens get prescription drugs that are misused, is right at home or at grandma's house. Do you have old pain meds left over from the strained shoulder you had last year? Does grandma and grandpa have a mini-pharmacy in their bathroom? We trust our kids to make the right choice, and we can't imagine our kids taking something that isn't prescribed to them. But the truth of the matter is, some don't make the right choices, and some do take medications that were originally prescribed to someone else. Sometimes tragic consequences follow.

Why not just flush the medications or throw them in the trash? Prescription meds and over the counter medications should never be flushed down a toilet unless a pharmacist or the manufacturer tells you specifically that the particular drug is harmless to the environment. When medications are flushed down a toilet or drain, they enter the wastewater treatment system, which can end up in our drinking water. Unfortunately, most treatment systems are not designed to remove the residuals from flushed medications.

Twice a year, April and October, ADAPT partners with the Branson Police Department and other agencies to host community-wide Drug Take-Back events. Over the years, we have collected thousands of pounds of medications. Join us to make the April 24th, 2021 Drug Take-Back event the most successful yet!

Gather up your unused and expired medications and make a plan to drop them off at the 3 live events in Taney County between 10 am and 2 pm:

• Lakeland Pharmacy, 1232 Branson Hills Parkway
  
• CoxHealth Pharmacy, 525 Branson Landing
• Hollister Walgreens, 101 Industrial Park Dr., Hollister

Other permanent drug drop-off boxes throughout Taney County and the surrounding area includes:

• Branson Police Department
• Hollister Police Department
• Kimberling City Police Department
• Stone County Sheriff’s Office in Galena
• Taney County Sheriff’s Office in Forsyth
• CoxHealth Pharmacy in Branson
• Rockaway Beach Police Department

Or, you can go to most any pharmacy drive through in Taney County April 25-29th for safe medication disposal resources.

During the 2021-22 school year, students from the Taney County Greater Ozarks Center for Advanced Professional Studies program, better known as GOCAPS assisted with community youth substance abuse prevention activities. Two teams chose to work on substance youth prevention through two different projects.

The first project, which focused on the accessibility and promotion of alcohol to our area youth. This team was trained by Epiphany Community Service to perform community scans on alcohol retailers to include convenience stores and grocery stores. The scans documented several points that might indicate the store owners or managers are diligent in their efforts to sell only to adults 21 or older, such as -

• the placement of alcohol products, whether they were in locations children could easily reach such as displays by the cash register, or if the products were placed in the same coolers as soda, juice and water
• placement of toys such as ping-pong balls that could be used for drinking games which are popular with young drinkers
• advertisements that appeal to kids
• prominent "We Card" placement

The results will be used to acknowledge local retailers who are conscientious of product placement and strategies to keep alcohol from minors, and to identify retailers who may be able to benefit from suggested improvements.

The second GOCAPS team was trained as facilitators to present the Generation Rx curriculum to younger peers. This curriculum is focused on teaching children to -

• only use prescription medications as directed by a health professional
• never share prescription medication with others or use someone else's medications
• always store medications securely to prevent others from taking them, and properly dispose of medication that you no longer need
• be a good example to those around you by modeling these safe medication-taking practices and discussing the dangers of misusing prescription drugs with your family and friends

Engaging youth to provide trainings such as Generation Rx education to peers and implementing strategies such as environmental scans to strengthen community protective factors, are evidence-based prevention activities shown to reduce the likelihood of youth substance use.

Marietta Hagan, ADAPT Leadership Team

ADAPT is grateful to have Marietta Hagan as a member of the ADAPT Leadership Team. She has the truest of altruistic hearts when it comes to helping others. She has worked in the healthcare field for twenty years, beginning with 15 years as a clinic manager, where she learned about prescription drug misuse through a different lens, often working with patients and providers to manage medication misuse and substance use disorder challenges. Marietta has several family members who struggle with substance use disorder. This personal experience fuels her passion for prevention, especially in regard to medication misuse, and fosters her dedication to the implementation of evidence-based strategies to curb misuse, as well as makes her a strong recovery ally and advocate.

For the last six years, Marietta has served as a Project Coordinator for the Stone & Taney Counties Substance Use Initiative, where she facilitates the implementation of evidence-based strategies in prevention, treatment, and recovery support. Through her role, she works with community coalitions like Taney County ADAPT and partners to build capacity and to increase collaboration and communication. Marietta has collaborated with multiple community partners to implement strategies such as Narcan distribution, and diversion programs that reroute people who use substances to treatment instead of the court system or jail.

Marietta is currently seeking her Master’s in Health Administration at Missouri State University and holds Missouri certification as a Prevention Specialist, a Medication Awareness Recovery Specialist, Missouri Recovery Support Specialist, and a Tobacco Treatment Specialist. Marietta has lived in Taney County since she was 10 years old and she and her husband of 21 years, Darin, raised one daughter, Madison, in the Branson school district. They have one Shi-tzu, Chloe, and two cats, Cassie and Salem. Marietta loves horses and horseback riding and also enjoys scrapbooking and hiking. She and her husband love to travel and are big foodies. They just returned from Dubai where they got to try lots of new foods and attend Expo 2020 (the World’s Fair).

If you see her out and about in the community, be sure to thank her for all her hard work.

Diversity and inclusion are not only being tolerant of the differences of others but being able to welcome and see the value of the different backgrounds and experiences that others bring to the table. This inclusiveness creates an environment rich with creative possibilities.

Imagine yourself tasked to learn to cook but you weren't allowed to try new foods, new ingredients or use others' recipes. How dull that would be! By exploring what is outside of our own bubble, we throw open the metaphoric windows and doors to explore new ideas.

Every business and organization can benefit from this free training. SAVE THE DATE to attend this two-hour training July 20, 2022, facilitated by Tyree Davis, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Community Partnership of the Ozarks. Branson School Administration Building - 10 am - 12 noon

Taney County ADAPT is a volunteer driven coalition and offers opportunities for everyone. Here are just a few of the areas you can help.

PREVENTION ACTIVITIES

Volunteers are needed to participate in activities such as our (April/October) Drug

Take Back events. Tasks include assisting with the planning of the event, being a

liaison to participating pharmacies, assembling goody bags ahead of time, surveying local residents or give out educational information. Volunteers jump in where needed and give as much time as their schedule allows.

PRESENT TO OTHERS

Are you one of those rare people that love to talk to others? We need YOU! In this

capacity, you will be called upon to engage with local civic clubs/groups to talk

about ADAPT or give presentations on specific substances. Training is provided.

LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Maybe you feel your strengths are in planning and organization. Our Leadership

Team may be the best place for you. These key individuals are willing to meet at least

monthly, work on strategy, and give their time as needed to ensure ADAPT is successful.

MEDIA

Love to write, be on the radio or do graphic design? This could be a good fit for you! Drug and

alcohol prevention work is important to everyone who lives in Taney County. The

consequences of addiction effects the entire community with increased crime,

illness/death, broken families, unemployment, and more. ADAPT is doing all we can

to prevent the use/misuse of dangerous substances by our youth. We could use people who like to work with the media.

FUNDRAISING

We are looking for a team to assist with fundraising to support ADAPT. Strategies may include grant research and writing, fundraising events, or individual donor development. Training is available.

It may feel as though our youth are not paying attention, but they are. Teens who have conversations with their parents about what is and what is not acceptable when it comes to drugs and alcohol, are more likely to confidently say no when a situation presents itself.

For tips on talking with your teens (not at them), and really listening to what they are saying to you, visit SAMHSA's "Talk. They Hear You." Discussion Starter Video - Bing video

There's even an app for that! Get Talk They Hear You - Microsoft Store With the Talk app, you can practice using interactive avatar characters and see how the conversation goes. You can modify what you might say according to the predicted response. Super fun!

ADAPT is a volunteer organization established to reduce and prevent youth substance misuse in Taney County through evidence-based strategies. We do this because we love our kids and we love our community. Currently, ADAPT has 2 paid staff and approximately 30 volunteer members to include our Leadership Team.

Heather Lyons-Burney, Chairperson

Open Co-Chair

Marietta Hagan, Acting Co-Chair

Shelly Marlowe, Program Director

Amanda Gray, Program Coordinator

Email: taneyadaptcoalition@gmail.com
Website: taneyadapt.com
Location: Branson High School
Phone: 870-480-7401
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TaneyCountyADAPT/

Upcoming Events:

• May is Mental Health Awareness Month
• National Prevention Week - May 8-14 https://www.samhsa.gov/prevention-week
• CPO Regional Prevention Conference - May 17
• Diversity and Inclusion Training (hosted by ADAPT) - July 20, 2022 10 AM - 12 Noon, Branson Schools Administration Bldg, 1756 Bee Creek Rd., Branson *Registration will open closer to event date
• CADCA Mid-Year - July 17-21 - Gaylord Palms, Orlando, FL

• The NPN (National Prevention Network) Power of Hope Conference - August 23-25, Virtual http://npnconference.org

Next Meeting (In-person with virtual option):

• ADAPT Coalition Meeting - May 13, 2022 9:00 - 10:30 AM Branson Schools Administration Bldg, 1756 Bee Creek Rd., Branson **Everyone is welcome. If you'd like to be added to our meeting invitation list, reach out to Shelly or Amanda*