Chelan installs Narcan kiosk to combat opioid overdoses

CHELAN – Chelan now has a kiosk with Narcan, a potentially life-saving medication.

Narcan can rapidly restore breathing to a person experiencing an opioid overdose. The kiosk is located outside the Lake Chelan Health Clinic at 219 E. Johnson Avenue. 

Ray Eickmeyer, Director of Lake Chelan Health EMS, said the kiosk's location is low-barrier because, with its proximity to downtown, it is easy to access and available 24 hours a day.

The kiosk also offers two types of COVID tests. Eickmeyer hopes to add additional items such as emergency blankets, condoms, feminine hygiene products like pads and tampons, electrolyte drink mixes, yeast infection treatments, and flu tests.

Eickmeyer said that he has seen similar kiosks in other areas. He noted that people took only what they needed and did not abuse it.

"It's an additional low-barrier safety net,"  he said. "I think what it does is it helps people engage in their health, or they would just go without, right, and so having stuff available for people to use to help them is, I think, the right thing to do. And it doesn't hurt, and it may help somebody. That's what we're here to do is help people, right?" 

The Chelan Douglas Health District, Department of Health and Lake Chelan Health EMS coordinated to make the kiosk available. Eickmeyer said this is the only kiosk of its kind in Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties that he is aware of. 

He said that Wenatchee has a kiosk to help people connect with recovery navigators.

Eickmeyer hopes that offering Narcan in the kiosk will be a first step in helping people who struggle with addiction.

"There's two reasons (for the Narcan)," he said. "One we want, we don't want people to die from overdoses, right? Number two, it gives us an ability to gain trust and give an access point."

"People who are struggling with addiction, and most people who struggle with addiction, don't like struggling with addiction," he said. "They don't live their best lives with addiction, and they know that."

The Narcan boxes have codes on them that can direct people to help and the clinic will have recovery navigators available to help as well.

"It's creating a venue so we can engage in the community," he said. "For those who seek or, you know, who want help, It doesn't promote them to, like, use drugs more safely. They're going to use the drugs with or without the Narcan machine there. In that Narcan availability, it's just creating a venue so we can help them because I think honestly, at some point in time, they know they're not living their best life." 

Quinn Propst: 509-731-3590 or quinn@ward.media.