(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A new vending machine has been installed in Kane County and it could save lives.
The vending machine is outside the Lighthouse Recovery Center, a substance use disorder facility in downtown St. Charles and it contains boxes of Narcan, the brand name of the opioid overdose lifesaver naloxone.
The contents of the vending machine are free for people to take for friends, family or themselves.
Nathan Lanthrum, Lighthouse’s clinical director and co-owner said people are already taking advantage.
“Our first weekend that we had it, we probably had 15-20 boxes go out and each one of those boxes contains two of the nasal sprays,” he said.
Kane County Health Department executive director Michael Isaacson applauds the installation of the vending machine and said there are plans to put more in other locations in the county.
“We’re working with hospitals to put them in the emergency department for people, looking at putting one at different county facilities.”
According to Kane County Coroner Rob Russell, Kane County had a total of 156 opioid-related deaths in the last two years. He said a recent study by the University of Cincinnati indicated that nearly 1,000 people could have been saved from naloxone that was dispensed from a vending machine.
The Kane County Health Department is hosting a free Narcan drive-through distribution event on Thursday, August 31 from noon- 2 p.m. and from 5- 7 p.m. at 1240 N. Highland Ave. in Aurora.
August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day.
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