Are you prepared to save a life? In 2020, 2,171 Michiganders died of opioid overdose – 55 in Saginaw County alone. In response to this growing public health concern, a narcan vending machine was recently installed in our lobby, thanks to our ongoing partnership with the CAREring Quick Response Team (made up of the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance, Ten16 Recovery Network, Mobile Medical Response and other partners). It is the first of its kind within the Great Lakes Bay Region and a vital tool to address the opioid crisis and the stigma of substance use.
At no charge, the vending machine dispenses: 1) fentanyl test strips to detect the presence of fentanyl in street drugs, and 2) Naloxone (also known as Narcan), a life-saving opioid overdose-reversal tool bystanders can use to revive an individual long enough to get paramedics on the scene. These products are free to anyone -- no questions asked and no identification required -- Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm, in the SCHD lobby.
The vending machine and its contents are designed for anyone, including friends, family, and the general public who know or interact with someone at risk for opioid overdose including those:
• Taking high doses of opioids as prescribed for pain
• Living with opioid use disorder
• Misusing opioids prescribed for others or using illicit opioids like heroin or fentanyl
Saginaw now joins Ann Arbor, Jackson and several northern communities offering free Narcan and fentanyl test strips from a vending machine.
Original source can be found here.
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