Vending machine for free COVID tests, overdose meds in Tri-Cities? Where to find it
A new vending machine is on its way to the Tri-Cities, and this one doesn’t sell soda or candy.
It will be filled with COVID testing supplies and potentially the overdose preventing drug Naloxone, also known as Narcan.
The Benton Franklin Health District presented Benton County commissioners with a plan this week to add a new 24-hour accessible vending machine to their Kennewick campus. The district needed commissioner approval because their office is a county-owned building.
The “Test and Go” kiosk is free to the health district and will be filled with free COVID and flu testing kits. Those supplies will be paid for and maintained by the vendor, Longview International Technology Solutions.
It can hold up to 700 test kits, depending on configuration.
The district also has the option of adding other items such as naloxone, wound care kits and even hygiene products. The only thing the district would pay for is supplies beyond the testing kits and electricity.
Joel Erickson, the health district’s emergency preparedness coordinator, said they already receive funding for many of these items.
“Think of it as like a vending machine, but for public health items,” Erickson said. “One of the big reasons we’re looking at implementing this kiosk and dozens of other counties across the state are, is the accessibility it brings to the community. The services we offer are pretty much 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, and this would offer some of them 24-7.”
All of these supplies are available inside the office during regular business hours, but the vending machine will allow people in need to access them 24 hours a day.
The vending machine also helps fill a gap in the availability of free COVID tests after the federal at-home testing program ended earlier this year.
The kiosk will likely go in at the health district office along the Young Street side of the building, at 7102 W. Okanogan Place, in Kennewick.
The location would position the kiosk near the Three Rivers Transit Center, so people who may not be able to see their doctor could take a bus to get to the kiosk for items like the wound care kits, to prevent infections.
Healthy Living Manager Kelly Harnish told commissioners that the increasing trend of fatal overdoses, driven by fentanyl usage, and the decrease in hospitalizations indicates that people overdosing aren’t making it to the hospital, so access to supplies like Narcan are increasingly important.
She said the kiosk carrying preventative supplies to help reverse overdoses and help with wounds will likely decrease public health costs in the long run.
Erickson said Asotin, Yakima, Chelan and Douglas counties already have the vending machines and many others have similar kiosks.
Users put in demographic information, but the vending machine does not take personally identifiable information. It also communicates with the health district in case the machine is unplugged or tampered with.
This story was originally published June 5, 2024 at 5:09 PM.
