VAN BUREN, Ark. — A Van Buren family is working to reduce opioid overdose deaths by expanding access to Narcan.
Before long, Fort Smith residents may notice a few vending machines around the city dispensing the nasal spray used to treat opioid overdoses free of charge.
In March 2023, the Whittington family launched Med Kwik, vending machines filled with over-the-counter pharmacy items.
“We thought it would be a good idea to put machines that were available 24/7 [in] hospitality locations like hotels, airports, hospitals, universities,” Gary Whittington said.
There are now around 20 Med Kwik machines in Arkansas, with the machine at Arkansas Colleges of Health Education in Fort Smith being the first in the state to dispense Narcan.
The Whittingtons said they were inspired to expand the machine's inventory to include Narcan by a need they saw in the community.
“We're both from Van Buren, and our family has been raised in Van Buren,” Rachel Whittington said. “We've had a couple of seniors that have suffered opioid overdoses, and over the last couple of years, we wanted to put Narcan out and be available for our community.”
Gary and Rebecca are both pharmacists, but Med Kwik and the mission to make Narcan accessible is a family project.
Their daughter, 15-year-old Avery Whittington, who is serving as Miss Western Arkansas’ Teen, said she was inspired to make opioid overdose awareness her community service initiative for the Miss Arkansas Organization after seeing the effects of opioid addiction firsthand.
In a statement to 5NEWS, the Van Buren School District said it has not had any opioid overdoses reported on its campuses. However, Avery said one of her classmates had to go to the emergency room after experiencing an overdose at school. She said they were transported to the hospital by their parent and didn't go to the school nurse, hence why it likely went unreported to the school.
"So with those experiences, I realized that if this is happening at my school, it's happening other places as well," Avery said. "And I kind of want to just raise more awareness and have more people know how serious this is and how to treat it."
17-year-old Nate Whittington has headed up marketing and helped design the digital display on the side of the Med Kwik machines.
“Recently, we started to transition into Narcan ads where we advertise what's happening with the opioid crisis, why it's an issue today, and how Narcan can be used to help reverse an opioid overdose,” Nate said.
On April 30, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin approved a grant to place four Med Kwik vending machines in Fort Smith, which will dispense Narcan for free.
Normally, it costs around $45.
“It makes it [hard], especially for students and universities,” Gary said. “They usually have access for an emergency … but it doesn't address that proactive person that wants to carry it with them.”
In the future, the family hopes to expand their efforts across the state.
“We definitely need these at more schools … [and] public places where there's a lot of people around and where there may not be Narcan or other treatment options readily available,” Nate said.
“Specifically high schools, because that's where my incidents happened where I saw several people go through opioid overdoses,” Avery added.
This is all part of the effort to reduce the stigma around Narcan and encourage people to carry it proactively, which the Whittingtons believe is necessary amid the opioid epidemic.
Gary and Rebecca explained that because opioid addiction has become so prevalent, overdose deaths must be addressed before opioid prevention can be the focus.
“We have to kind of adjust our goals,” Gary said. “Part of that is preventing the deaths that occur from an overdose.”
The Whittingtons said the four vending machines dispensing free Narcan will be placed around Fort Smith in six to eight weeks.
Arkansas state law requires all school resource officers (SROs) and school nurses on high school campuses to carry naloxone at all times while on campus. The Van Buren School District said it employs full-time SROs and nurses on every elementary and secondary campus who keep naloxone on hand.
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