Self-Service

Idaho health district installs Narcan machines

Makenna Hunziker and Katie Schmeer welcome the newly installed naloxone vending machine at the St. Vincent de Paul pantry. Photo: The Panhandle Health District.

December 11, 2023

The Panhandle Health District in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, has installed vending machines offering free health products at The Pantry at St. Vincent de Paul and the Shoshone County Fire District, according to a press release.

The machines are filled with Narcan, a brand name of the opioid reversal medication naloxone, and medication disposal pouches to discard unused and unwanted medication safely.

Data from Idaho's Drug Overdose Prevention Program attributes 15.5% of all overdose deaths in Idaho to those over the age of fifty-five. In 2022, there were 381 overdose deaths in Idaho. Of those, 71% were related to opioids and 49% to fentanyl.