Chippewa County Adds Public Health Kiosk at Jail

The Chippewa County Department of Public Health has announced the opening of a new public health kiosk at the county jail in Chippewa Falls.

According to a press release, the public health kiosk will be available to residents 24 hours a day. The kiosk is located in the Chippewa County Jail on East Spruce Street in Chippewa Falls. It will contain a variety of harm reduction tools like naloxone nasal spray, fentanyl testing strips, firearm locks, and medication deactivation bags. It will also contain hygiene items and other items to improve the general health of the community.

It’s the latest in efforts by Chippewa Valley communities to improve harm reduction options as they combat the rise in opioid overdoses over the last few years. The Department of Public Health’s website also features instructions on how to use some of the items in the new public health kiosk. In addition to the kiosk, the county also has a number of sharps disposal sites and medication drop box locations around the area.

Similar harm reduction vending machines have been cropping up across the state in recent years. The Dunn County Health Department opened a public health kiosk in July after a community health report identified substance abuse as a major concern. Ashland County officials also began seeking more funding for public health vending machines after seeing a decrease in the overall number of overdose calls following their introduction. In addition to opening their own public health kiosks, the City of Eau Claire also launched an opioid data dashboard last year.