New York Hospital Queens Continues Free Community Service:

Friday, April 27, 2007

Flushing, New York - New York Hospital Queens continues to assist the Queens community through its SHARPS Collection Program, a free service for the collection of home-use needles, syringes and lancets.

With the community’s ongoing need for a safe and convenient way to discard SHARPS (a term that refers to needles, syringes and lancets), New York Hospital Queens offers a free, weekly disposal period every Wednesday (throughout the year) from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for all Queens residents.

“Many community residents have medical conditions that require self-injections of medications or treatments in the home,” said Vito Cassata, Vice President, General Services, New York Hospital Queens. “The safe disposal of SHARPS is a concern for families because of the threat of disease transmission. Additionally, SHARPS that are improperly discarded can seriously complicate waste disposal, and recycling efforts, and potentially injure anyone who comes into contact with them.”

To ensure the safe removal, New York Hospital Queens can only accept SHARPS that are properly contained. All needles, syringes, lancets and other sharp instruments must be placed in an approved SHARPS container. These containers are available at all local pharmacies (with pharmacist or manager assistance) for a nominal fee.

Containers must be clean and securely fastened. When the container is full, close the lid and bring it to the security desk at the main entrance of the hospital, located on Main Street off of Booth Memorial Avenue.

New York Hospital Queens is a member of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System and affiliated with Weill Medical College of Cornell University.