WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau City Council has approved the purchase of two public health vending machines for installation at the Community Partners Campus on Grand Avenue and Healthfirest on South 3rd Avenue.
Both Captain Melinda Pauls with the Wausau Police Department and Health Educator Kerry Thieme with the Marathon County Health Department said the machines aren’t meant as an endorsement of illegal drug use. Instead, they are meant to save lives. “We recognize that people need help, and they need places to go for that help,” said Pauls. “We are supplying resources to them when they are still looking to get that help.”
The machines will distribute Narcan and fentanyl test strips while also providing information on resources for addiction treatment and recovery. Thieme says that will include information on the 9-8-8 crisis line and resources available through the Crisis Center at Northcentral Health Care.
First responders in Wausau have administered 55 doses of Narcan so far in 2023. Eight fatal overdoses have been confirmed in the county, with more toxicology reports pending. Those number doesn’t account for incidents that haven’t been reported, such as the peer-to-peer administration of Narcan.
“We recognize that the substances are here,” added Thieme. “People are using drugs.”
Funding will come from an $80,000 grant, which comes from Wisconsin’s share of opioid settlement funds. The Marathon County Health Department will work to maintain the machines.
Tuesday’s vote was 9-1. Alder Dawn Herbst cast the lone no vote.
