OPEN Sunsets Two Current Offerings; Welcomes Four Brand New Programs going into 2025
On December 13th, OPEN officially sunsetted two of its community programs; Medication Disposal Products and Safe Storage Locking Pill Bottles. Together, these programs helped thousands of people across Michigan. Final awards will be sent to organizations during the beginning of 2025.
The Medication Disposal Products program allowed organizations to apply to receive Deterra Medication Pouches and Mail-In Envelopes to hand out to community members. Since its launch in January 2023, this program has handed out over 6,100 Deterra pouches and over 1,000 mail-in envelopes. This program supported safe disposal practices and aimed at decreasing the number of unused medications being left in our communities.
The Safe Storage Locking Pill Bottles program was a partnership between OPEN and Safe Rx where organizations could apply to receive either small or large locking pill vials to hand out to their community members. Each vial came with a four-digit code that would need to be entered in order to access the medication inside. During 2024, OPEN distributed over 4,500 LPVs across the state. This program supported safe storage options and aimed at preventing misuse of unused medications.
In the spirit of celebration, OPEN is very excited to announce that four new programs are open to the public; the Youth Board, Community Naloxone Kit Distribution, Medication Disposal Pouches, and SAFE Storage + Disposal Kit programs.
The Youth Board program will allow Michigan youth to come together and develop resources to share with their peers. Interested youth can visit the OPEN Teen page to see what the first iteration of our Youth Board was able to accomplish.
The Community Naloxone Kit Distribution program allows organizations to apply for naloxone kits to hand out to their community. Each kit will include 1 box of naloxone, a Learn the Facts: Naloxone brochure, 1 pair of gloves, 1 CPR face shield, and 1 kit bag with administration instructions.
The Medication Disposal Pouches program will continue the partnership between OPEN and Deterra by giving organizations the opportunity to receive medium sized Deterra pouches to pass out. One medium size pouch is 5″ x 8″ x 2.5” and will allow people to practice safe at-home disposal.
The SAFE Storage + Disposal Kit program will give organizations the chance to receive a safe storage and disposal kit consisting of a large Safe Rx locking pill vial and a small Deterra medication pouch. The SAFE acronym stands for; Secure your medications, Ask your pharmacist, Follow through on disposal, and Empower your community.
OPEN is excited for this new change in our program offerings and can’t wait to see how they help the people of Michigan. All applications are open and awards will run in quarterly cycles. Applications for all new programs will open on January 6th, 2025. See OPEN’s Programs for more information.