Lebanon Family Health Services unveils self-service kiosk for medical supplies

Lebanon Family Health Services (LFHS) held a ribbon-cutting Thursday morning, April 24, for a health kiosk outside 615 Cumberland St.

The 24/7 self-serve kiosk has been running for around 10 months, with LFHS president Kimberly Kreider Umble reporting that most usage of the kiosk to date has occurred outside the clinic’s regular hours.

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“The kiosk is designed to serve individuals with both privacy and convenience, and we all know that providing access to service goes beyond just having a medical provider,” said Umble. “It’s also about helping to reduce barriers to care when you need it, and the kiosk aims to do that.”

Umble said the kiosk functions similarly to a vending machine, with users being able to anonymously select from products including Narcan, Fentanyl testing strips, COVID tests, menstrual products, pregnancy tests, emergency contraception, condoms, and STI testing kits.

All products are free to users regardless of insurance status or income, Umble explained, though users are asked for demographic data while obtaining products other than Narcan.

Thus far, most users of the kiosk have been women, around 40 percent of users are uninsured, and the most commonly requested products have been condoms, pregnancy tests, and emergency contraception.

“Lebanon Family Health is not about termination services, we’re about prevention, and we’ve always been about prevention,” explained Umble in an interview after the ribbon cutting. “Emergency contraception is also available at your local pharmacy, so people being able to get it here is just removing yet another barrier for people to get emergency contraception.”

Umble explained Lebanon is one of two locations piloting the kiosk in Pennsylvania, and the kiosk and its products are paid for by a grant from the Family Health Council. Similar kiosks are common in some southern states, she said.

“The idea is, with the success shown of these kiosks, to be able to expand them in the state of Pennsylvania,” she said.

Before the ribbon cutting, Karen Groh of the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce congratulated LFHS for bringing the project to fruition.

“It just floored me because it shows the great leadership from Kim and the amazing team she has at Lebanon Family Health Services, to have the trust to be the pilot program, and the insight and the awareness to say that we bring it here,” said Groh. “I think there are so many things for us to be proud of in Lebanon County, this is just one of them.”

Representatives from Congressman’s Dan Meuser’s office, state Senator Chris Gebhard’s office, and state Rep. John Schlegel’s office congratulated LFHS on the kiosk.

Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello voiced her support for LFHS and the Family Health Council, saying “the goal of that program is to improve health equity and women’s health by increasing awareness and increasing knowledge on how to access women’s health services — though this is for everyone, not just women.”

Those identifying STIs with kits provided by the kiosk can receive free, confidential treatment at LFHS, Umble said.

She noted that Lebanon’s syphilis rate, as detected by LFHS, is over 4 percent, and nationwide one in five people have been found to have an STI.

“It’s a rising concern in our community,” she said. “The self-testing kits are wonderful because it remains confidential, the information comes directly to you and then you can follow up with us from there.”

LFHS also provides a variety of services to the public on a sliding scale based on income, including prenatal and postnatal care, a walk-in clinic, and teen services.