Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Cherry Health, in partnership with addiction and sexual health services provider the Grand Rapids Red Project, will install Narcan vending machines at two locations to help prevent opioid overdose, MLive reported Dec. 6.
One vending machine will be located at the health system's Heart of the City Health Center in Grand Rapids, and the other will be at the Montcalm Health Center in Greenville, Mich.
Narcan is a brand name of naloxone, a non-abusive drug that can reverse the effects of opioid overdose, the leading cause of accidental deaths, according to a news release obtained by the publication.
"By providing free and accessible Narcan, we hope to diminish the stigma of substance abuse — it's real, it affects everyone," Bob Smith, director of behavioral health therapy at Cherry Health, said in the news release. "As a community, it's important that we normalize the use of life-saving medications, like Narcan, that can be easily accessible."