Most misused prescription medicines begin their journey with a legitimate prescription from a hospital or clinic.
SAFE Project has launched its first multi-pronged campaign – the Be SAFE Campaign, in an effort to arm the public with helpful information about prescription painkillers and encourage everyone to have open conversations with their doctors about their pain management options. This public awareness campaign combines signage designed to catch the eyes of key audiences with important facts and information about prescription medicine, signs of addiction and how to safely dispose of unused medicine.
Nearly 90% of misused prescription painkillers are obtained through a doctor, a relative or a friend.
To kick off the Be SAFE Campaign, the first series of Be SAFE Campaign signs and flyers were installed at the Beckley VA Medical Center in West Virginia last week. Below are a few photos of the campaign signage.
Through this partnership, customized messages for signage and flyers were created to educate Veterans, employees, visitors, and community stakeholders about the risks associated with sharing prescription opioid medication, encourage dialogue with a provider if help is needed, and promote safe storage and disposal of unused medication.
Next week, SAFE and Beckley VA Medical Center will share more information about the partnership and additional photos of the custom signage and flyers.
Through the Be SAFE Campaign, SAFE will continue working with hospitals, clinics and health centers in the coming months to educate patients and staff about the opioid epidemic and ultimately drive change that prevents and reduces the misuse of opioids.
In addition, the SAFE team is looking to expand the Be SAFE Campaign to communities and campuses across the nation. If you want to see signage in your hospital or community to raise awareness of the risks related to opioids and encourages others to ask for alternatives to opioids, join the Be SAFE Campaign today. Email us at Contact@SAFEProject.us and visit our campaign page for more information, including a sample of campaign messages and images.
