Dispensing life-saving tools

Two new vending machines filled with free, life-saving medication have been installed at The Pantry at St. Vincent de Paul in Coeur d’Alene and Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 in Kellogg. Panhandle Health District is providing machines stocked with Narcan to combat drug overdoses in the region. Disposal pouches to discard unused medication safely are also being provided.

Katie Schmeer, Community Health Program manager at Panhandle Health District, said these types of vending machines are rare in Idaho, and there are only a handful of them operating statewide.

Since Narcan’s inception, there has been a 46% reduction in opioid overdose death rates in the state, according to the Idaho Harm Reduction Project. While Narcan is available over the counter at pharmacies, it can cost on average $50 a box. These vending machines remove the barrier of cost and allow anyone to have it on hand when needed.

“Overdoses can happen to anyone. That is why it is so important to provide access to anyone who would like this life-saving measure,” Schmeer said.

Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 Chief Scott Dietrich said new information from across the state spurred the call to action across agencies to help prevent more people from overdosing.

“One week, I got calls from both Panhandle Health and Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Department, both of them saying, 'hey, the latest EMS drug response data is out.' This data is about two years behind, but it's the most current data. They said that Shoshone County has the highest percentage of EMS calls that are drug or alcohol related out of any county in the state,” Dietrich said.

Dietrich said that if someone is overdosing, even after you apply Narcan to counteract the overdose, you should always call 911 because the overdose emergency may not be over.

Depending on how much of the drug is in their body, after the Narcan wears off, they could begin experiencing overdose symptoms again.

In his eyes, the prospect of saving lives is more valuable for the community than the alternative. When Narcan first became available through EMS with the Shoshone County Ambulance Service District, he had people warn him that drug users would be coming in to the station while high. The reality that he and the team at Fire District No. 2 experienced was quite different from these warnings.

“We would have people coming in asking, 'can we get Narcan?’ It was never people that were currently wasted or high, it was wives, it was mothers, it was family members saying ‘my grandson's a user and I want Narcan in case he overdoses and this happens again.' These are the people who are wanting this medication,” Dietrich said.

Narcan is safe and easy to use. The medication blocks opiate receptors and it can reverse the overdose and keep that person alive until first responders arrive. 

There will also be lockboxes available as part of the program at Fire District No. 2 so people can safely store their medications.

Panhandle Health also offers free Narcan training. Narcan will not harm someone if it is given to them and they are not overdosing from opioids.

Narcan station locations:

Kootenai County
The Pantry at St. Vincent de Paul
1317 N. First St., Coeur d'Alene

Accessible Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and some Saturdays.

Shoshone County
Shoshone County Fire District No. 2
911 Bunker Ave., Kellogg

Accessible at all times.

Visit www.panhandlehealthdistrict.org to learn more.

This story has been modified to add information from Chief Scott Dietrich at Shoshone County Fire District No. 2.

    Panhandle Health staff members Katie Schmeer and Makenna Hunziker stand by the newly installed naloxone vending machine at St. Vincent de Paul in Coeur d'Alene.
  

    The installation of a Narcan station will allow people to access it 24 hours a day from the Shoshone County District No. 2 firehouse in Kellogg.