CHI Grant Work Expands Naloxone Access, Strengthens Rural Resources
SWACH’s Community Health Improvement team is continuing to build on work supported by HRSA funding, with a focus on expanding overdose prevention resources, strengthening rural connections, and helping community members find support closer to home.
Over the past several months, one of the biggest areas of progress has been CHI’s work to expand access to naloxone in rural communities. Ashley Gaffney, SWACH’s Director of Community Health Improvement, said the grant has supported the purchase of naloxone and other prevention supplies, along with four new outdoor kiosks designed to make naloxone easier to access in areas that may not have nearby vending machines or other low-barrier options.
The team is moving forward with a new outdoor naloxone kiosk outside the Lyle Lions Club in Klickitat County. A second kiosk location, also in Klickitat County, is close to moving forward while final agreements are still being completed. Gaffney said both locations reflect CHI’s focus on expanding access in communities where resources may be limited.
For Gaffney, the Lyle kiosk represents an important step toward reaching people in high-risk rural areas.
“I think especially because we’re looking at some of the most at-risk communities that don’t have any access,” Gaffney said. “Especially with Lyle, I think that’s going to be one of our biggest accomplishments.”
The kiosk model is intended to reduce barriers in several ways. By placing naloxone outside, in locations people already visit, community members can access it without having to go indoors or speak with someone directly. Gaffney said that matters, especially in smaller rural communities where stigma or fear of judgment can prevent people from seeking support.
“It’s really expanding access in multiple ways by it being outdoors,” Gaffney said. “People do not have to talk to or go indoors, where there could potentially be the fear of judgment, especially in a small rural community.”
The kiosk work also builds on CHI’s broader naloxone distribution efforts across Southwest Washington. Existing vending machine sites have helped increase access to overdose prevention supplies, and the new kiosks create another option for communities where a vending machine may not be feasible.
In addition to naloxone access, CHI is also continuing work on the Rural Community Asset Map and the SUD Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Resource Guide. Gaffney said the resource guide was developed with an emphasis on substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery, while the asset map helps make those resources easier to find and connect to.
The asset map launched as a first version in November, and Gaffney said the next phase is about continuing to improve it with community input.
“Asset maps are meant to be iterative,” Gaffney said. “It’s continuing to raise awareness and involve the community in co-creating the map.”
Survey feedback will help guide that next stage. Gaffney said many people first learned about the map through community information sessions, which showed that CHI’s outreach efforts are helping raise awareness. Some respondents also shared that they learned about resources they didn’t know existed, even after living in the community for many years.
Moving forward, CHI hopes to shift from community engagement in the map to community ownership by involving community members and community-based organizations that expressed interest in contributing. That could include sharing survey feedback with contributors and inviting them into decisions about how the map should improve over time.
Gaffney said this work is also connected to future community-based care coordination efforts. Although the HRSA grant is nearing its end, the work will continue through other funding, including the Carelon Substance Use Block Grant. CHI plans to keep supporting rural communities while also expanding community-based care coordination services to Clark County vending machine sites.
“We’re using that funding to continue the work in our rural communities, but also expanding community-based care coordination services to Clark County,” Gaffney said.
As SWACH and partners prepare for upcoming Medicaid and SNAP changes, Gaffney said the asset map may also become a useful tool for helping community members find support related to those needs.
“The biggest thing is highlighting the work with the asset map, the expansion of naloxone through kiosks, and looking forward, expanding community-based care coordination services and support for people who will be impacted by the Medicaid changes,” Gaffney said.
Together, these efforts reflect CHI’s continued focus on rural communities, overdose prevention, and community-led resource connection. Through expanded naloxone access, stronger resource tools, and continued partner collaboration, SWACH is working to support safer, more connected systems of care across Southwest Washington.