The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit and REACH Nexus, a group working on strategies to address hepatitis, HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, is collaborating to get health care and wellness items for those who need them. Wednesday afternoon, they launched the ‘Our North Bay Healthbox’ outside of the health unit location at the intersection of Oak Street West and Cassells Street. The health box is a smart vending machine that people can use to get free health and wellness items. Our Healthbox was developed by Dr. Sean B. Rourke, Director of REACH Nexus at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital (Unity Health Toronto). The first healthbox was launched in Moncton, N.B., in 2023, said Darsh Maraj, research coordinator at REACH Nexus for the healthbox program. He showed the services the vending machine can provide, which includes dispensing naloxone kits. “This will democratize access to care, fill those gaps and care for people who may not traditionally come to a health centre,” Maraj said. In addition to naloxone, the health box can dispense HIV self-testing kits, safe consumption supplies like clean needles, sexual health supplies, as well as menstrual and hygiene products, among other lifestyle items. Harm reduction “Harm reduction is an evidence-based, scientific approach to supporting individuals who use substances. It’s not ideology,” said Shannon Mantha, the health unit’s chief nursing officer. “It’s no secret that northern Ontario has been hit hard by the opioid crisis, and our region is no exception. We are also seeing local rates of homelessness on the rise, and higher-than-average rates of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV and syphilis.” When a new user wants to take something out of the machine, they are prompted to answer a series of questions about health and wellness. They then create a user ID with their birth year for future use. “About 50 per cent of people who are accessing HIV self-test kits from the machine, they’re testing for the very first time,” said Maraj. The Our North Bay Healthbox is part of a research project. Data collected from the machine will determine the number of new and returning users, and which supplies are being used the most. Data is collected on the box and recorded here. “It’s really targeting those who typically are marginalized or underserved in our community,” Mantha said. “The top items that people are dispensing out of this would be socks, rain ponchos and wound care kits.” Currently, 15 communities across Canada have access to health boxes and so far, they’ve reached more than 10,000 people. Locally, nearly 80 people have used the box. The smart machine has dispensed seven naloxone kits and 56 supplies related to harm reduction. “We’re hoping that when local governments see the effects and the effectiveness of the machines, they’ll sort of take it in hand and move forward with it,” Maraj said. The health unit is partnering with the organization True Self – Debwewendizwin to ensure the vending machine is frequently re-stocked. “North Bay has not had an around-the-clock needle syringe program since 2017, which has made it harder for people to get harm-reduction supplies when they need them,” said Stuart Nichols, peer outreach support team lead at True Self - Debwewendizwin. “Our North Bay Healthbox fills this gap in services and responds to the voices of people with lived experience.” Meant to assist and not replace other health and wellness programs, the vending machine also provides health education information, drug alerts and a map directory of local health services. “Potentially, we could have this other in places across the North Bay Parry Sound district,” Mantha added. “It’s the second in northern Ontario, second to Timiskaming.” REACH Nexus is hoping to have 100 machines installed across the country in communities that would benefit from them. The health box is funded by the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research.
