Free narcan and supplies via new vending machine in Valdese

The Catawba Valley Healthcare in Valdese will soon have a Narcan vending machine, a first for Burke County.

The vending machine will be a free resource for the community to access Narcan (Naloxone) and toiletries (body wipes, hand sanitizer, menstrual pads, alcohol pads, and antibiotic ointment). The machine will be located at 205 Morgan St. SE in Valdese.

Running 24/7, the machine will be positioned outside at the side of the building, facing the Jack-B-Quick in downtown Valdese. This way, it offers some privacy for individuals who may not feel comfortable being seen using the machine.

Anyone can use the machine by inputting their zip code and pressing the button corresponding to the item they want.

Sitting by the supplies going into the machine, Executive Director Tim Lentz of Catawba Valley Healthcare (not affiliated with the hospital) explained the background of the machine and its impact on the Burke County community.

“There has been this kind of idea for a while about the ‘Johnny Appleseed’ movement of getting Narcan to as many people as possible with the least amount of intrusion,” Lentz said.

Agencies/providers such as Olive Branch and High Country will provide Narcan, but people are sometimes afraid to ask for it, Lentz said. There is a stigma around addiction and mental health – or brain health as their nonprofit calls it.

“What the vending machine does in that process is it allows people not to have to ask for it. They can identify where a machine is, and they can go and get it, punch in their area code, and they can get Narcan,” he said. “... Folks who are afraid to go in and ask for Narcan, or to have to pay out of pocket for it, they can come and get that for free.”

The project is funded by a Blue Cross Blue Shield grant that was distributed through Partners Health Management and then Burke County. The nonprofit was contacted in mid-June, and the machine arrived the first week of July.

He added that the vending machine should be up and running by the end of the week or the beginning of next week. Lentz said they wanted the machine to be placed in the eastern part of the county, where resources are fewer.

“It’s a life-saving medicine that saves lives, but there’s a lot of conversation about why people should be able to access this and the cost related to it,” Lentz said. “But the cost of a death related to an overdose, or hospitalization due to an overdose, is way more expensive than providing access to medicine that can save people's lives.”