By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
A minister, a nurse and a physician assistant joined forces in Powell County to educate its citizens about a syringe-exchange program, which should open up this month -- but the decision to support an exchange didn't come easily for any of them, Mary Meehan reports for Ohio Valley ReSource, a regional journalism collaborative.
Pastor Brad Epperson of the Clay City First Church of God, who also drives a school bus, told Meehan that the many funerals he has officiated for people too young to die, and the stories he hears from the children on his bus, made him realize that something had to change. He now considers syringe exchanges the first place for addicts to get the help they need.
Mandy Watson, a nurse for the Powell County Board of Health, told Meehan that she changed her mind about syringe exchanges after realizing what an HIV or hepatitis C outbreak could do to the community.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks Powell County 15th in the U.S. for risk of an HIV or hepatitis C outbreak from IV drug use, and the county borders Wolfe County, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation.
"Almost anybody you ask has some kind of family member who does use or (has) some type of trouble with addiction," Watson said of the county, where 13,000 people live.
Physician assistant Troy Brooks, who is on the county health board, initially opposed a syringe exchange. "He said it seemed like a way to let addicts keep using their drug of choice without consequence," Meehan reports. But then local police showed him how bad the problems is by taking him to the Clay City playground, where they collected 41 dirty needles, and he saw the need to protect children and first responders.
The state legislature authorized syringe exchanges in the 2015 anti-heroin bill, but in an effort to decrease the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, which are commonly spread by the sharing of needles among intravenous drug users. They require both local approval and funding.
So far, 25 syringe exchanges have been approved, though six of them aren't operational yet. Thirteen are in counties deemed most vulnerable counties by the CDC, which identified 54 Kentucky counties as among the 220 most vulnerable in the nation to a rapid spread of HIV and hepatitis C infection among persons who inject drugs. Sixteen of the state's counties ranked in the nation's top 25.
Van Ingram, executive director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, told Meehan that rural counties like Powell are leading the way in changing the perception of how addiction is perceived in the state, shifting the focus toward treatment and public health initiatives and away from the criminal justice system.
New exchanges
Boyle and Whitley counties will start their syringe exchange programs on Jan. 13.
Boyle County's syringe exchange program opens will be open on Fridays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the basement of the Boyle County Health Department in Danville, Kerry Steinhofer reports for The Advocate-Messenger. The program is initially being funded by a $20,000 grant from the Kentucky Agency for Substance Abuse Policy, which will pay for supplies, but not salaries. Health officials said the hope is that the city and county will eventually fund the program.
Whitley County's program will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Friday at the Whitley County Health Department's main office in Williamsburg. Whitley County is ranked the 14th most vulnerable county in the nation for a rapid outbreak of HIV or hepatitis C infections, Mark White reports for the News Journal.
“Needle exchanges are the only thing they have shown that truly decreases hepatitis. Hepatitis C has become the number one killer in the state,” Public Health Director Martha Steele told White.
Mike James of The Daily Independent reports that Greenup County recently approved a syringe exchange program. The program will cost about $8,000 per year, including materials and will be funded by the local health department and a grant from Pathways Inc. The program will be operated out of the health department one day per week for three hours each open day. James reports that "users also will get counseling from a Pathways Inc. professional."
Floyd County will also begin offering its program in January as well, Andrea Saddler reports for The Floyd County Times. The Floyd County Health Department has opened a survey to determine the best day to operate its exchange.
Nelson County approved its program in December, but it's not operating yet, Jim Brooks reports for the Nelson County Gazette. This exchange will be a one-for-one exchange and will be funded by the health department.
Bowling Green's program opened in September and reports that it is off to a good start, seeing about a dozen people each week, Alyssa Harvey reports for the Bowling Green Daily News. It is open on Thrusdays from noon to 4 p.m. at the Barren River District Health Department.
Brad Stacy of The Morehead News reports that "the city, county and board of health approved a harm reduction program that focuses on limiting the risks and harms associated with unsafe drug use, including needle exchange." after a standing-room only community drug forum discussed the heroin problem in the county. This exchange has not been added to the above map.
Other counties are working toward exchanges
The Madison County Board of Health supports a syringe exchange program, but was met with "mixed feelings" about the program at the August fiscal court meeting, with some members concerned that the program condoned intravenous drug use, Ricki Barker reports for The Richmond Register.
In addition to these concerns, the judge executive asked for some public feedback on the program.. In response to this request, the board will be hosting several public forums to educate the citizens of Madison County about the cost and benefits of the program and answer any questions that the public may have about the program. Health officials told Barker that the health department sees about eight to 10 patients a day with hepatitis C.
Woodford County has also received an ASAP harm reduction grant, for $6,859.80, which will be used to seed a syringe exchange program if approved by the local governments.
.
Louisville's program is growing, continues to make case for needs-based model
The Louisville syringe exchange program opened its fourth location in December at the Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Shawnee neighborhood. It will be open every Tuesday morning from 9 a.m. to noon outside the West End church, Joe Sonka reports for Insider Louisville.
"Statistics provided to Insider Louisville by the city health department show that from the program’s inception through the end of this October, a total of 5,347 individual clients have received 454,989 free syringes, with 267,746 used syringes returned," Sonka reports. He also notes that 295 clients in the exchange have been referred to drug treatment programs, two have tested positive for HIV and 182 have tested positive for hepatitis C.
Sonka reports that Louisville's syringe exchange program is the only one in the state that offers a needs-based model, which is considered best practice by leading health experts to prevent the spread of disease. Other programs in the state either offer a strict one-for-one exchange or place some limits on the exchange.
STAT recently published an informative article titled, "Needle exchanges, once met with fierce resistance, are working" that notes public health experts say that one of the challenges in decreasing infections is "that exchanges do not provide as many clean syringes as people who use drugs need."
State legislatures in Frankfort, mostly Republican, would like to require health department to use only a one-for-one model, going so far as to pass legislation out of the Senate during the 2016 session to do so. This legislation did not pass out of the then-Democrat led House. If Republicans choose to file similar bills this year, they will likely pass as both chambers are controlled by the GOP. Syringe exchanges are not currently required to have a one-for-one exchange because of an opinion by then-Attorney General Jack Conway.
In addition, syringe exchange program programs that have accepted a harm-reduction ASAP grants are limited to a one-to-one exchange, as directed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin's administration.
An approval in Northern Kentucky remains unlikely
Securing a needle exchange in Northern Kentucky continues to depend on what Campbell County decides to do, Chris Mayhew reports for Cincinnati.com.
The Northern Kentucky Health Department wants to put a needle exchange program in the Campbell County Health Center, which is in Newport in 2017, but Newport hasn't yet approved an exchange, despite a strong push from health officials since 2015 to do so.
The problem is that Kenton County Fiscal Court and the city of Covington approved a needle exchange in 2016, but won't initiate one until two other counties in the region approve them.
Grant County has approved one, which is already in operation. Boone County Fiscal Court rejected the idea in 2016. So that means "all eyes will be on Campbell County in 2017," Mayhew writes.
Campbell County Fiscal Court approved a needle exchange in 2016, but health officials are waiting for the Campbell County's city council to grant its approval. Mayor Jerry Rex Peluso, who supports an exchange, told Mayhew that the four city commissioners remain divided on this issue.
Intravenous drug use is so bad in Northern Kentucky that the health department created a "story map" to utilize "big data" to help combat the heroin epidemic in the area, noting that one person in Northern Kentucky died from a drug overdose every 40 hours last year. The map shows the areas with the highest number of opioid-related arrests since 2011, opioid related medical runs and where naloxone was administered; where you can get naloxone, among other things, Jay Warren reports for WCPO Cincinnati.
Click here to see a list of operating needle exchanges and days and hours of operation.
Kentucky Health News
A minister, a nurse and a physician assistant joined forces in Powell County to educate its citizens about a syringe-exchange program, which should open up this month -- but the decision to support an exchange didn't come easily for any of them, Mary Meehan reports for Ohio Valley ReSource, a regional journalism collaborative.
Pastor Brad Epperson of the Clay City First Church of God, who also drives a school bus, told Meehan that the many funerals he has officiated for people too young to die, and the stories he hears from the children on his bus, made him realize that something had to change. He now considers syringe exchanges the first place for addicts to get the help they need.
Mandy Watson, a nurse for the Powell County Board of Health, told Meehan that she changed her mind about syringe exchanges after realizing what an HIV or hepatitis C outbreak could do to the community.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks Powell County 15th in the U.S. for risk of an HIV or hepatitis C outbreak from IV drug use, and the county borders Wolfe County, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation.
"Almost anybody you ask has some kind of family member who does use or (has) some type of trouble with addiction," Watson said of the county, where 13,000 people live.
Physician assistant Troy Brooks, who is on the county health board, initially opposed a syringe exchange. "He said it seemed like a way to let addicts keep using their drug of choice without consequence," Meehan reports. But then local police showed him how bad the problems is by taking him to the Clay City playground, where they collected 41 dirty needles, and he saw the need to protect children and first responders.
The state legislature authorized syringe exchanges in the 2015 anti-heroin bill, but in an effort to decrease the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, which are commonly spread by the sharing of needles among intravenous drug users. They require both local approval and funding.
So far, 25 syringe exchanges have been approved, though six of them aren't operational yet. Thirteen are in counties deemed most vulnerable counties by the CDC, which identified 54 Kentucky counties as among the 220 most vulnerable in the nation to a rapid spread of HIV and hepatitis C infection among persons who inject drugs. Sixteen of the state's counties ranked in the nation's top 25.
New exchanges
Boyle and Whitley counties will start their syringe exchange programs on Jan. 13.
Boyle County's syringe exchange program opens will be open on Fridays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the basement of the Boyle County Health Department in Danville, Kerry Steinhofer reports for The Advocate-Messenger. The program is initially being funded by a $20,000 grant from the Kentucky Agency for Substance Abuse Policy, which will pay for supplies, but not salaries. Health officials said the hope is that the city and county will eventually fund the program.
Whitley County's program will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Friday at the Whitley County Health Department's main office in Williamsburg. Whitley County is ranked the 14th most vulnerable county in the nation for a rapid outbreak of HIV or hepatitis C infections, Mark White reports for the News Journal.
“Needle exchanges are the only thing they have shown that truly decreases hepatitis. Hepatitis C has become the number one killer in the state,” Public Health Director Martha Steele told White.
Mike James of The Daily Independent reports that Greenup County recently approved a syringe exchange program. The program will cost about $8,000 per year, including materials and will be funded by the local health department and a grant from Pathways Inc. The program will be operated out of the health department one day per week for three hours each open day. James reports that "users also will get counseling from a Pathways Inc. professional."
Floyd County will also begin offering its program in January as well, Andrea Saddler reports for The Floyd County Times. The Floyd County Health Department has opened a survey to determine the best day to operate its exchange.
Nelson County approved its program in December, but it's not operating yet, Jim Brooks reports for the Nelson County Gazette. This exchange will be a one-for-one exchange and will be funded by the health department.
Bowling Green's program opened in September and reports that it is off to a good start, seeing about a dozen people each week, Alyssa Harvey reports for the Bowling Green Daily News. It is open on Thrusdays from noon to 4 p.m. at the Barren River District Health Department.
Brad Stacy of The Morehead News reports that "the city, county and board of health approved a harm reduction program that focuses on limiting the risks and harms associated with unsafe drug use, including needle exchange." after a standing-room only community drug forum discussed the heroin problem in the county. This exchange has not been added to the above map.
Other counties are working toward exchanges
The Madison County Board of Health supports a syringe exchange program, but was met with "mixed feelings" about the program at the August fiscal court meeting, with some members concerned that the program condoned intravenous drug use, Ricki Barker reports for The Richmond Register.
In addition to these concerns, the judge executive asked for some public feedback on the program.. In response to this request, the board will be hosting several public forums to educate the citizens of Madison County about the cost and benefits of the program and answer any questions that the public may have about the program. Health officials told Barker that the health department sees about eight to 10 patients a day with hepatitis C.
Woodford County has also received an ASAP harm reduction grant, for $6,859.80, which will be used to seed a syringe exchange program if approved by the local governments.
.
Louisville's program is growing, continues to make case for needs-based model
The Louisville syringe exchange program opened its fourth location in December at the Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Shawnee neighborhood. It will be open every Tuesday morning from 9 a.m. to noon outside the West End church, Joe Sonka reports for Insider Louisville.
"Statistics provided to Insider Louisville by the city health department show that from the program’s inception through the end of this October, a total of 5,347 individual clients have received 454,989 free syringes, with 267,746 used syringes returned," Sonka reports. He also notes that 295 clients in the exchange have been referred to drug treatment programs, two have tested positive for HIV and 182 have tested positive for hepatitis C.
Sonka reports that Louisville's syringe exchange program is the only one in the state that offers a needs-based model, which is considered best practice by leading health experts to prevent the spread of disease. Other programs in the state either offer a strict one-for-one exchange or place some limits on the exchange.
STAT recently published an informative article titled, "Needle exchanges, once met with fierce resistance, are working" that notes public health experts say that one of the challenges in decreasing infections is "that exchanges do not provide as many clean syringes as people who use drugs need."
State legislatures in Frankfort, mostly Republican, would like to require health department to use only a one-for-one model, going so far as to pass legislation out of the Senate during the 2016 session to do so. This legislation did not pass out of the then-Democrat led House. If Republicans choose to file similar bills this year, they will likely pass as both chambers are controlled by the GOP. Syringe exchanges are not currently required to have a one-for-one exchange because of an opinion by then-Attorney General Jack Conway.
In addition, syringe exchange program programs that have accepted a harm-reduction ASAP grants are limited to a one-to-one exchange, as directed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin's administration.
An approval in Northern Kentucky remains unlikely
Securing a needle exchange in Northern Kentucky continues to depend on what Campbell County decides to do, Chris Mayhew reports for Cincinnati.com.
The Northern Kentucky Health Department wants to put a needle exchange program in the Campbell County Health Center, which is in Newport in 2017, but Newport hasn't yet approved an exchange, despite a strong push from health officials since 2015 to do so.
The problem is that Kenton County Fiscal Court and the city of Covington approved a needle exchange in 2016, but won't initiate one until two other counties in the region approve them.
Grant County has approved one, which is already in operation. Boone County Fiscal Court rejected the idea in 2016. So that means "all eyes will be on Campbell County in 2017," Mayhew writes.
Campbell County Fiscal Court approved a needle exchange in 2016, but health officials are waiting for the Campbell County's city council to grant its approval. Mayor Jerry Rex Peluso, who supports an exchange, told Mayhew that the four city commissioners remain divided on this issue.
Intravenous drug use is so bad in Northern Kentucky that the health department created a "story map" to utilize "big data" to help combat the heroin epidemic in the area, noting that one person in Northern Kentucky died from a drug overdose every 40 hours last year. The map shows the areas with the highest number of opioid-related arrests since 2011, opioid related medical runs and where naloxone was administered; where you can get naloxone, among other things, Jay Warren reports for WCPO Cincinnati.
Click here to see a list of operating needle exchanges and days and hours of operation.
from Kentucky Health News http://ift.tt/2jvgvmS
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