St. Louis Children's Hospital is aiming to prevent accidental child overdoses by offering families free lock boxes to safely store medications in their homes.
As part of a pilot program, the hospital will distribute 1,000 lock boxes to families visiting the emergency department with a child who has accidentally ingested medication. Families of patients experiencing suicidal ideation or other behavioral health crises will also receive lock boxes to reduce the risk of self-harm.
Each lock box is designed to securely hold multiple medications — or a small firearm — and can only be accessed with a key, according to a Sept. 10 news release.
The program builds on a similar initiative the hospital launched in 2020, offering families free gun locks to prevent firearm-related injuries. That effort has since been expanded to more than 20 locations across BJC HealthCare, the hospital's parent system.
The new pilot program comes as Missouri faces a sharp rise in child poisoning deaths, with the state reporting 62 fatalities in 2022, up from 11 in 2019.