HCA HealthONE Swedish announced today that it will partner with the Englewood Police Department to host the seventh annual “Crush the Crisis” prescription drug take back day on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. The event aims to help raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of unused or expired medications.
The event aligns with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and offers the Englewood community an opportunity to safely and anonymously dispose of medications before they fall into the wrong hands. While national drug overdose deaths decreased by nearly 27% in 2024 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prescription drug misuse remains a public health crisis in the United States. Locally, approximately 221,000 Coloradoans misuse prescription drugs, and overdose deaths involving the use of opioids nearly quadrupled between 2000 and 2011.
“At HCA HealthONE Swedish, caring for Englewood is who we are,” said Dr. Mary Laird Warner, chief medical officer of HCA HealthONE Swedish. “Crush the Crisis is more than a one-day event; it’s a reflection of our deep commitment to the community’s health and safety. By giving people a responsible way to dispose of unused or expired medications, we’re taking meaningful steps to support healthier futures.”
Event Details and Accepted Items
“Crush the Crisis” will take place at HCA HealthONE Swedish’s Emergency Entrance (200 feet east of the corner of S. Logan St. and E. Girard Ave.) in Englewood, Colorado, on Saturday, October 25, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Law enforcement officers from the Englewood Police Department will be collecting:
Any unused tablets or capsules in any packaging.
Patches, medicated ointments, lotions, or drops.
Liquid medications (in leak-proof containers).
Vape cartridges (without batteries).
Pet medications.
Specifically, they will collect tablets, capsules and patches of Hydrocodone (Norco, Lortab, Vicodin), Oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet), Tramadol (Ultram), Codeine, Fentanyl (Duragesic), Morphine, Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and Oxymorphone (Opana).
Note: They will not be able to accept needles, syringes, lancets, or illegal drugs.
For more information, call 833-582-1970.
HCA Healthcare’s Commitment
HCA HealthONE Swedish is participating as part of HCA Healthcare’s seventh annual national “Crush the Crisis” prescription drug take back day. Since 2019, HCA Healthcare has helped safely dispose of more than 88,000 pounds of unused or expired medication. This year marks another milestone in HCA Healthcare’s ongoing effort to reach 100,000 pounds of safely collected medications.
HCA Healthcare, the parent company of Swedish, uses data from approximately 44 million annual patient encounters to help continuously improve care. The organization uses the science of “big data” to reduce prescription drug misuse and transform pain management, with initiatives including:
Enhanced Surgical Recovery (ESR): A multi-modal approach to pain management that has demonstrated significant improvements in surgical recovery and patient satisfaction, including decreases in opioid usage.
Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS): This aims to stem increasing rates of opioid-related addiction, misuse diversion and death by making it more difficult for medication-seekers to doctor-shop and alter prescriptions.
About Swedish
HCA HealthONE Swedish, a Level I Trauma Center and 504-bed hospital, is proud to be part of the south Denver metro community for more than 115 years. The care team, nationally recognized for healthcare quality, safety and exceptional outcomes, treats more than 200,000 patients per year through the main campus in Englewood and free-standing emergency departments in Littleton and Lakewood. Swedish is renowned for its specialists’ expertise in burn and reconstructive care, stroke and neurological care, cardiovascular care, oncology, orthopedics, minimally invasive surgery, women’s care and rehabilitation services. Swedish is a part of HCA HealthONE, recently named by PINC AI as the top health system in Colorado and among the top health systems in the United States.
Media Contact:
Richard Grissom, Director Communications
303-981-2756
richard.grissom@hcahelathcare.com
