DELAWARE — You may have noticed weatherproof red boxes mounted to public park walls and the brick facades of local support centers. They look kind of like medical defibrillators.
But these boxes are actually naloxone kits, stocked with one to four doses of naloxone, gloves, instructions for how to administer the naloxone and possibly a CPR mask.
Naloxone, also sometimes called NARCAN, is a life-saving medication that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses.
The Delaware Public Health District has installed 13 of these kits since the program got off the ground in 2023.
Their locations span from Delaware County District Libraries to a dentist office in Powell to Genoa Church in Westerville.
First responders also carry the medication, though Delaware County EMS Assistant Chief Jeremy Miller said their patients don’t require as much as the average county.
“We started really just giving out the kits to people. And then we started reaching out to our partners to see who would be interested in putting these up,” said Jen Keagy, Deputy Health Commissioner of the Community Health Division.
Most recently, DPHD entered into memorandums of understanding to install boxes at Grace Clinic in June and the Ashley American Legion Post 518 in March.
The Ashley location came in response to a recent overdose.
When DPHD looks at installing a new box, data — including nearby overdoses — plays a major role, as well as willingness from community partners to maintain a box.
“We’ve had some places reach out to us where we’re like, ‘Eh, we don’t know that that’s the best spot for it.’ But for the most part, they’re in places where we’re seeing high-risk clients,” Keagy said.
Keagy said recent locations include Safe Harbor, a peer recovery support site, and Unity Community Center, which serves an area with higher need and vulnerable populations. Ashley was also selected because some residents may face transportation barriers to accessing kits.
A statewide push
Delaware’s health department is not the only one that’s involved with overdose prevention through the Ohio Department of Health’s Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone).
Project DAWN is a network of opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution programs (OENDP) coordinated by the Ohio Department of Health.
There are over 200 Project DAWN programs registered in Ohio as of November 2025.
Through the program, DPHD receives the materials for the kits for free. DPHD just has to coordinate installation and maintenance costs with partners, and those costs are minimal, Keagy said.
DPHD also used to have fentanyl test strips available for people, but due to state funding cuts they no longer offer them.
The DPHD also has plans to maintain more boxes at gas stations around the county and likely boxes at the rest stops under construction along I-71.
In addition to the naloxone boxes, DPHD installed a naloxone vending machine in the Delaware County Jail in July of 2025.
“It made sense there: the jail’s open 24/7. You can go in there and get it any time, and then they can come during the day to get stuff here,” Keagy said.
Individuals recently released from jail or correctional facilities are more than 10 times more likely to experience an opioid overdose, according to a DPHD report.
Keagy said the vending machines are becoming more popular around the state as well.
Have the boxes been effective?
In 2025, DPHD gave out 1,267 kits, which includes restocking the boxes, giving them out directly at the office or events and providing 247 kits to law enforcement.
“Law enforcement, if they don’t have other mechanisms for getting it, they come to us, and we help stock their supply,” Keagy said.
The health department gave out almost 400 additional kits in 2025 than in 2024, marking a 31% increase.
“We really have done a push, and we’ve seen our overdose numbers go down,” Keagy said.
“I can’t say it’s because of what we’re doing; it’s probably a combination of things, but I do think it’s been a positive program in the community.”
In 2024, there were 19 deaths from accidental overdoses. Fentanyl was found in 15 of those cases, with cocaine being the next leading substance, found in five of those cases.
That marks a decrease in deaths caused by overdoses in years prior, with 20 deaths in 2023, 30 deaths in 2022 and 36 deaths in 2021.
DPHD will release the 2025 numbers in August, which is Overdose Awareness Month.
“If the boxes are empty and we’re having to continue to refill them…to me, that means people are using it,” Keagy said.
Keagy also said the community has received the program well, which helps reduce the stigma that addiction carries.
“The use and the willingness by our community to embrace this, and we hear stories all the time of people that are like, ‘I used this and helped save somebody’s life.’ That’s our whole goal with the program is to save lives,” she said.
