July 15 , 2021 The Beacon • 19
Program to teach about safe medication practices
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By Marianne Austin
Emily Marrison , family and consumer sciences educator for Ohio State University Extension , Coshocton County , has received a grant to offer a program in Coshocton County from OSU College of Pharmacy called Generation Rx .
This class is targeted toward older adults . The one-hour class is about being your own health advocate , following safe medication practices and knowing the risks of medication misuse .
“ The grant requires about 75 people over the age of 60 , and they have reached out to extension to see if we would be willing to teach in the communities in Ohio , especially to older adults ,” Marrison said . “ They have curriculum for young children , teens and college students and then older adults . On campus it ’ s easier for them to reach college students and even children but
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not necessarily older adults , so they were hopeful that we would be able to do that in the rest of Ohio .”
There are 10 different counties around the state that received a grant to teach this , and Coshocton County is one of them .
“ I need to have at least five groups , and the hope is to reach at least 75 people in the county ,” Marrison said . “ I have one program scheduled now at Kids America after Silver Sneakers and the Coffee Walk and Talk in the morning on Wednesday , July 21 in the little gathering area . Now I am reaching out to others that would be willing to let me come and speak to people 60 and older . So if there are church groups that have senior members , I would be happy to come , and I know there are some retiree groups out there from local manufacturing , retired teachers or retired everybody . If there are some folks that regularly get together somewhere , we can come there .”
The program is all about safe medication practices . There are three focuses with number one to be your own health advocate .
“ The goal is to make you feel empowered when you are with your own doctor and that you understand what medication is being prescribed for you ,” Marrison said . “ That enables you to ask questions about the medicine that is being prescribed for you — for example , what the medicine is supposed to do or any possible side effects . Some people don ’ t feel comfortable asking questions , or they aren ’ t sure what questions to ask . This is meant to be an encouragement for people just to be able to ask . It can be overwhelming , especially if you just found out that you need medication .”
The second point is to learn safe medication practices , like only taking them as directed .
“ People of all ages have that problem ,” Marrison said . “ There are questions : for instance , am I taking the medication exactly as directed ? We hand out a paper to help them organize what medication they are taking , and we have giveaways : for example , pill sorters and magnifying glasses , magnifiers with lights on them so you can read the fine print and things like that , just some tools to help them .”
Third is about the misuse of taking medication .
“ Make sure you are taking it exactly as prescribed for the reason it is prescribed ,” Marrison said . “ The handouts give recommendations on where to keep it and how to store it and disposal . What are the recommendations on how to dispose of the prescription properly ? It is a program from Ohio State College of Pharmacy , and
I ’ m thankful that they are allowing us to be a part of it and share it with people . If anyone wants me to come and do a program , I would be happy to do that .”
Her goal is to meet with groups before the fair .
“ I will try to do most of them in August and September and will offer one online Zoom class ,” Marrison said . “ The online class will probably be early September . There is a short video and a
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asts , talking about things they made back in the old days , the future and things they are making now . Conversations go on all day , and the people going by always enjoy what we ’ ve got .
“ We ’ ve been at the firefighter show every trivia game , so the class is meant to be fun . What we find , especially with adults , is that they know a lot more than they think they know .
“ Medications help us live longer and healthier lives . They can also produce harmful effects when not used properly . This class is designed to inspire safe medication practices for life .”
For information call the extension office at 740-622- 2265 .
year that they ’ ve had it , and we ’ ve sponsored it in the past . We ’ ve always enjoyed the firefighters . They ’ ve got raffles and all kinds of stuff going on . It ’ s a good day out . We didn ’ t care about the weather . We would always go . I plan to go every year as long as I ’ m alive . Me and my son , we ’ ll show these same two trucks .”
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