Marshall County Public Health installs first sharps disposal unit at McFarland Clinic
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Utilizing dollars from the county's portion of the massive nationwide opioid settlement, Marshall County Public Health installed its first community sharps disposal bin at the east entrance to McFarland Clinic, located at 421 E. Merle Hibbs Blvd., on Friday morning.
"It's been in the works for quite a while now. We were just trying to get the location set up and work with McFarland Clinic to get it in the works," MCPH Director Sydney Grewell said. "We've all been busy with things -- the (Legionella) outbreak last year -- so we're excited to finally get it in place."
Grewell explained that sharps, which can be used for everything from diabetic injections to lovenox and MS injections can pose risks to the general public and especially sanitation workers if not properly disposed of, and she is excited to bring the first dedicated public disposal bin to Marshall County.
McFarland Clinic Executive Director Deb Wollam said she was excited to work with Grewell after she reached out about a potential collaboration and called it "a no-brainer."
"We know that patients are excited to have the opportunity. The program comes with empty sharps containers that'll be provided to them as well. So, you know, I think that'll provide a little bit of cost savings for some people," Wollam said. "I think we're a really convenient, well-known location, and right here on the east side of the building, it's gonna be really easy for people to come in and dispose of them."
The bin will be open and available for use during regular business hours, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the sake of clarity, needles, syringes, lancets, infusion sets, connection needles and auto injections are accepted, while prescription medications, aerosol cans, inhalers, liquids, garbage, hazardous chemicals and waste are not. Grewell added that placing the sharps within the provided containers is the recommended method of disposal, and they can be picked up for free either at McFarland or the MCPH office.
One patient who walked in on Friday morning remarked on how thankful she was for the new bin.
"It's one of those things where unless you're involved in it, you have no idea what it's about," she said.
"And without a place to dispose of (sharps) correctly, people do just put them in the garbage or they don't know what to do," Wollam added.
Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.