'This medication saves lives': Phoenix vending machine dispenses Narcan for free
Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this article included an incorrect title for Lisa Nieri, chief operating officer of the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers.
A Phoenix health care provider unveiled a Narcan vending machine that distributes the opioid reversal drug anonymously and for free.
Valle del Sol made the reveal Friday morning at its clinic near First Avenue and Yuma Street in Phoenix alongside Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers, a partnership that created a way to combat opioid abuse amongst Arizonans.
"This vending machine is one step in the battle against opioid overdose death," said Mike Renaud, president and CEO of Valle de Sol.
The blue vending machine is located in the clinic's lobby and displays six rows of Narcan, most of them nasally administered and in a pack of two in case one isn't enough to reverse an overdose. More limited intravenous options were also available.
Anyone can walk up to the machine and simply press the number of the desired item. No ID or record is made of who took the free Narcan.
'Drugs are a problem, but drugs aren't the only problem'
Members of Valle del Sol and the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers held up a celebratory ribbon to induct the machine as part of the facility.
Gertrude Goss, a patient at Valle del Sol, cut the ribbon with a pair of oversized scissors made for the momentous occasion.
"I hope I did OK," said Goss, who is in recovery and has benefited from housing located by Valle del Sol. She also uses the group's consistent meetings and programs to help curb her drug usage.
"They treat you like a person, not a dope head," she said.
"Drugs are a problem, but drugs aren't the only problem. It's after you stop taking the drugs, then you got all that stuff you never dealt with that because you were hiding, because you were using," said Goss.
Helping people through harm reduction
The means of Narcan distribution met an overall goal of harm reduction, something that Melinda Cobb, special projects manager for Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers, had long wanted to implement in Arizona.
"This has actually been a dream of mine since 2018, I went to a conference, and I saw that they had these machines," said Cobb.
"I was like, oh, 'that'd be so awesome to bring to Arizona, this is what we need, especially with the (opioid overdose) numbers going up,'" she reflected.
"This is a large, large problem, we're fortunate just to be able to address one small part of this," said Lisa Nieri, chief operating officer for the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers.
She added that the project was made possible by the membership organization and the federal funding it received to support community health centers across the state.
Cobb and the alliance worked closely with Elizabeth Moyer, Valle del Sol's director of integrated substance use disorder services.
"It was a long hard fight. I had a lot of support from the alliance," said Moyer, who added that Valle de Sol has made plans to place another vending machine at their Mesa clinic.
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'This medication saves lives'
With 30 years of expertise, Moyer said Arizona's opioid pandemic has grown worse.
"We are the hub for the cartel to bring it in, you get fentanyl pills extremely cheap on the streets," said Moyer.
Narcan proved to Moyer to be a safe and effective tool for responding to overdoses because the easy-access drug dealt no side effects to anyone who was not experiencing an opioid-specific overdose.
"There's no street value to this product, no danger or side effects or any of those things," said Valle del Sol CEO Renaud.
"This medication saves lives, and we want this in the hands of as many people as possible. I carry a kit in my car," Renaud added.
Cyril Garcia has been a patient of Valle de Sol for two years and has received and administered Narcan during his active addiction.
Garcia said that he saw key signs of an overdose when his ex's lips began turning blue along and her breathing sounded like a gurgle.
"I used the liquid Narcan," said Garcia, who followed instructions to administer the drug intravenously.
"I have to say you have to follow those instructions to a tee and make sure you have the force to put it in the person's thigh," said Garcia, who noted their ex's lip color returned normal as the overdose was reversed.
Garcia overdosed in 2021, but he survived after receiving two nasal doses of Narcan.
"I was the one who had the Narcan, I was the one who asked a person to use it on me because I couldn't use it on myself, I was about to pass out," said Garcia.
Garcia participated in Valle del Sol's daily service. He said the group's ability to bring free Narcan to the community was important for those with substance abuse issues like him.
"Just come and get it. No one's judging you. There's no judgment. You know you press those buttons, get it and you can potentially save someone's life just by having it on hand," said Garcia.
Valle de Sol's Phoenix clinic with the Narcan vending machine is at 1209 S. First Ave. in Phoenix.
The clinic also offered support groups, counseling, opioid maintenance like methadone, along with a full-scale medical office for routine doctors' visits and specialties like Hepatitis C and HIV treatment.
"Just know that this is a safe place to come to not feel judged to come in, no questions asked, when and if they are ready, then we are here to support that process," said Moyer outside the Phoenix clinic.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Health care provider Valle del Sol reveals free Narcan vending machine
