Chamber of Commerce Director Phillip O’Rourke and Greene County Public Health staffers Kaci Warren and Kelley Day stand proudly next to the new kiosk in the Yellow Springs Train Station, at 101 Dayton St. along the bike path. The kiosk provides any and all with free Narcan — no questions asked. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
Free Narcan now available at Yellow Springs Train Station
- Published: July 24, 2025
The Yellow Springs Train Station now has life-saving medicine free for the taking.
On Monday morning, July 14, representatives from Greene County Public Health installed a bright purple kiosk, packed with individual doses of naloxone, at the station.
Often known by its brand name Narcan, naloxone is an FDA-approved nasal spray medication that blocks the effects of opioids such as fentanyl, oxycodone and heroin, and can be used to temporarily reverse overdoses.
This kiosk is the third of its kind in Yellow Springs; GCPH set up one in Yellow Springs Pharmacy in fall 2023, and the Village has a box installed in the John Byran Community Center’s vestibule closest to the parking lot.
GCPH health educator Kaci Warren told the News that the more public-facing location of the kiosk at the train station grants greater accessibility to the medication for both villagers and visitors to Yellow Springs alike.
The train station is open to the public 9 a.m.–9 p.m. every day.
(Photo by Reilly Dixon)
“By having this right by the public restrooms, we feel it’s the best spot,” Warren said. “Our goal is to get as much Narcan as we can all over Greene County so it becomes more of a ubiquitous medication — like Band-Aids. Narcan can be a part of everyone’s first aid kit.”
Making Narcan free and available through these kiosks — with 12 placed throughout the county — has been a keystone initiative from GCPH to reduce area opioid-related overdoses and deaths, and those efforts have proven successful, according to recent data.
Dr. Don Brannen, an epidemiologist with GCPH, shared data with the News that illustrate accidental overdose deaths have tended downwards in recent years. Preliminary data show that 61 overdose deaths were reported in 2023, and 40 in 2024.
Recent statewide and national data indicate a similar decline: The CDC’s National Vital Statistics System published information in May that shows that Ohio and the country as a whole saw a significant decrease in predicted drug overdose deaths in 2024 compared to the year before.
HOW TO USE NARCAN
1. Identify signs of opioid overdose and check for response. Ask the affected individual if they are OK, gently shake their shoulders and check for overdose signs: they will not wake or respond to voice or touch; their breathing is slow, irregular or has stopped; the center of their eye is small, sometimes called “pinpoint pupils.”
2. Prepare medicine. Remove the Narcan nasal spray from the box, hold the spray with your thumb on the bottom of the plunger and your first and middle fingers on either side of the nozzle.
3. Insert into either nostril. Tilt the person’s head back and provide support under the neck with your hand. Insert the tip of the nozzle into one nostril, until your fingers on either side of the nozzle are against the bottom of the person’s nose. Press the plunger firmly.
4. Get emergency medical help right away and call 911.
5. Move the person to their side and watch closely. If the person does not respond by waking up to voice or touch, or they do not begin breathing normally, another dose may be given. Narcan can be administered every two to three minutes, if available.
6. Repeat steps two and three as necessary.
For more information about Narcan nasal spray, go to narcannasalspray.com or call 1-844-4NARCAN.
In Ohio, 3,136 residents died from overdoses in 2024 — a more than 35% reduction from 4,847 the year before. An estimated 80,000 people from across the country died from overdoses last year, down by 27% from the 110,000 in 2023.
Here in Yellow Springs, Police Chief Paige Burge shared with the News this week that an officer has only administered Narcan once in 2025.
But there’s still a lot of work to be done, Warren said, and much of that centers around breaking down barriers to life-saving medication — with Narcan having an over-the-counter cost of around $50 — and doing more public outreach to destigmatize addiction and substance abuse.
“You never know where you’ll be when someone overdoses,” Warren said. “You could be shopping at Kroger or walking to your car in the Walmart parking lot, and then you see someone in their car.”
“It can be anyone,” added GCPH staffer Kelley Day. “Maybe your grandma with dementia accidentally takes too much medication.”
For those unexpected encounters and crisis situations, Warren and Day emphasized that all would do well to be prepared and carry Narcan.
Chamber of Commerce Director Phillip O’Rourke — whose office is in the train station — said he is pleased to have the kiosk in an accessible spot.
“I thought it was a good idea, especially from the Chamber’s point of view, because we deal so much with tourism and outreach — bringing people to the community,” O’Rourke said. “We have a burden and an opportunity to keep people healthy and safe when they come to Yellow Springs.”
He continued: “If [Narcan] should be anywhere, it should be somewhere easily accessed, and not locked up.”
GCPH’s two kiosks and free doses of Narcan are funded through the Ohio Department of Health’s “Project DAWN” — deaths avoided with naloxone — integrated harm reduction program. To learn more about GCPH’s public health services and initiatives, go to http://www.greenecophoh.gov.
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