Narcan vending machines coming to Winnebago County Criminal Justice Center
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department plans to setup a Narcan vending machine in the lobby of the Criminal Justice Center in an effort to increase access to the life-saving opioid overdose medicine.
Narcan is a naloxone nasal spray that can be used in an emergency to reverse the effects of an overdose. You can already get the medication free in several places around the county, and the vending machine is another means to give residents free access to the treatment.
“The idea is to get it out in as many people’s hands as we can,” Sgt. Anthony Ponte said. “If they don’t feel comfortable coming to the police departments or the fire department for Narcan, they can come to the lobby here and walk up to the machine and just hit the button and it will dispense it to you.”
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The number of estimated overdose deaths across the country increased to 75,673 from 56,064 for the 12-month period ending in April 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents a 35% increase. In Winnebago County, there were 166 overdose deaths in 2020 compared to 130 the year before, according to the Winnebago County Coroner’s Office.
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The custom-built machines are coming here thanks to federal and state funding, Ponte said. A date for when the machines will be setup isn’t confirmed.
“It takes 90 days to build it. We’re in the building phase right now,” Ponte said. “I’m expecting it should be done by the middle or end of May.”
Narcan can also be received at the front window of the Criminal Justice Center, and officers there will provide brief training. When receiving it from a vending machine there will be training available through a smartphone, “and the boxes themselves have self-explanatory instructions,” Ponte said.
Ponte said inmates at the Winnebago County Jail are also receiving training on Narcan use and can receive the medicine when they’re discharged from the facility.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.
