Empowering children and families with knowledge and tools to safely use, store and dispose of medications is the goal of Meds Matter – a new TMC Health program led by Baylee Dorsey, community outreach specialist at Tucson Medical Center.

By going into schools with information about opioids, fentanyl, prescription and over-the-counter medications, Dorsey hopes to reach children, so they know what to do when they are around these drugs.

“I think a lot of people have been impacted by the misuse of medications from all different standpoints, and I think getting this into the schools so kids can know what is going on is important because you never know what they will see or what they will get themselves into,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey started the Meds Matter program last month and has already been into a few schools. She currently works directly with Tucson Unified School District’s substance abuse program and is hoping to grow the program to reach more schools and other districts.

By creating different curriculum for different age groups and schools, Dorsey can reach children where they are with the hope of educating them before they are faced with drugs. She plans on spending the summer building her program for the upcoming school year.

“We are all impacted by what we see in the community with opioids and fentanyl,” she said. “Bringing it into schools so they can stop it there is really impactful.”