September 21 and 28, drug seminars were held in each senior center with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office attending, along with Andrew Bleak from Jolly’s Pharmacy.
Sergeant Chase Dirks discussed a new program instituted in schools to report bullying and other dangerous activities. He explained that anyone with a cell phone can download the Safe Voice Nevada app or call 1-833-216-SAFE (7233). The phone call will be routed straight to the state. Tips are completely anonymous. Operators ask no personal questions, and caller ID isn’t shown.
The whole idea is for people to be able to report anonymously.
Bleak then discussed pharmaceutical drugs. He stressed that seniors should take all their prescriptions with them when they visit the doctor. Furthermore, it’s helpful for a person to use just one pharmacy, so the pharmacist is clear on what medications a person is taking and how they will interact with other drugs.
Bleak explained that new laws, which went into effect at the beginning of the year, only allow doctors to write so many prescriptions for pain and anxiety medications. Therefore, patients will need to see their doctors every three months. Pharmacists then send a daily report to the state about the prescriptions they have filled.
He advised seniors to watch their medications and keep them in a safe place, rather than a bathroom, re-emphasizing that if the pills are lost or stolen, people will not be able to get another prescription ahead of schedule. Bleak also noted that it’s important to keep a list of medications in a safe place, where emergency personnel can easily access them, but to avoid taping such a list to the fridge, where anyone can see it.
June Taylor from RSVP noted that they have emergency tubes available that can be placed in freezers or other locations with all such medical information.
If a person has any medications stolen or finds them missing, they should contact the pharmacy, which will help them file a report with the sheriff’s office.
The events were organized by the Lincoln County Coalition through a grant from the NyE Communities Coalition.
