CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The first ten months of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department’s Harm Reduction Program, a comprehensive health effort specifically for intravenous drug users, are being called a success.
“I would say absolutely the harm reduction program is working for us in Kanawha County,” reported Dr. Michael Brumage, executive director and health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, during a Monday community meeting.
“This is a program that saves lives.”
The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department launched its harm reduction program, modeled on the one the Cabell-Huntington Health Department first developed, on Dec. 2, 2015 with eight patients.
At the clinic held on Sept. 21, 2016, there were 166 patients.
Since last December, 1,143 unique patients have visited the clinic making more than 3,264 total visits with an average of 24 new patients per clinic, according to data from the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.
Of those patients, who are treated anonymously, 248 have received other services like testing for hepatitis and HIV.
More than 84,100 syringes were distributed with an 80 percent return rate.
“We’ve had at least 15 people that we know of, and probably many more, who’ve gone into recovery as a result of coming into our clinic and we also know that our naloxone program has saved at least 12 lives,” Brumage said.
“Those are numbers that we know of. We guess that there’s many more for each count.”
In addition to saving lives, Brumage said the effort is saving money in terms of the long-term public healthcare costs of drug users.
The hours for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department’s Harm Reduction Clinic have expanded to 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Wednesday.
“We see a lot of professionals come in here, somebody that would be your neighbor or work beside you, so it’s affecting all walks of life,” said Tina Ramirez, prevention and wellness director for the Kanawha Charleston Health Department.
The comfort level of the patients usually improves each week, she said.
“When they first come in, they’re very introverted, very shameful and, by the time they leave the clinic and come back week after week, they feel like we’re treating them like a human being, we’re treating them like anybody else that would come into the clinic,” Ramirez said.
In addition to syringe exchanges, the harm reduction program offers participants HIV counseling and testing, education on reducing health risks tied to drug usage, including sexual health risks, and referrals to drug treatment facilities and other health services.
Training on the use of naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal medication, is open to anyone every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
Since last December, more than 270 people have been trained on how to administer naloxone at the KCHD and 265 naloxone kits, with double dose auto-injectors, have been giving out to community members.
Kaleo Pharma donated $1 million worth of naloxone kits to the effort.
The KCHD Harm Reduction Clinic largely runs with such donations and volunteer support.
“I’m hoping this program continues to receive support and that we’re able to expand our services to increase the number of hours we’re able to offer this and not rely solely on our volunteers, as we do currently,” Brumage said of the future of the program.
His goal is to eventually take the harm reduction program to other parts of Kanawha County and Putnam County.
Ramirez, who is working to secure grant funding for the effort, said funding will determine where the program goes from here.
“We can continue, we’re just going to have to look for grant funding and different sources to be able to continue to maintain the program,” she said.
The KCHD has signed on to be part of a harm reduction research project from John Hopkins University that will also include Scott County, In. and Carter County, Ky.