CABELL COUNTY, W.Va. –After 10 years, the Cabell Huntington Health Department will be ending its syringe distribution program, which is a part of the larger harm reduction initiative.
The program, also known as the needle exchange program, began in September 2015. Its goal was to provide sterile syringes and collect used ones to reduce the spread of infectious diseases.
Holly Smith Mount, who serves on the program’s advisory board and is a Huntington City Councilwoman, said this part of the program could not be funded with taxpayer money, meaning it was supported through private donations and grants.
Smith Mount said they have fallen on hard times because of the way federal funding has shifted in recent years.
“It’s a hard thing, especially right now, a lot of funding is shifting, a lot of things that were funded previously are not, and things are kind of tight economically right now, so I think funding just kind of dried up for the syringe aspect of it,” she said on MetroNews Midday Monday.
The whole program had been receiving grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which operates under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This funding was halted on July 24 after President Donald Trump signed the ‘Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets’ executive order. The order prevents HHS from allowing the administration to fund harm reduction programs or safe consumption sites.
Smith Mount, who is also a registered nurse, said that when she first heard about the program, it interested her because of her passion for public health.
She said she saw firsthand what the program could do during her first year on the advisory council.
“I went through the program myself and took a tour and it was eye opening and I got to see all the amazing work done right here in our community,” Smith Mount said.
She expressed that once the program ends, the spread of infectious diseases is likely to increase.
“From my perspective, my fear, is the spread of diseases and other preventable things,” Smith Mount said. “Of course, we worry about HIV, we worry about Hepatitis, but there’s also other things like bacteremia, which is infection of the blood stream, endocarditis that can come from abscess related to reusing needles.”
he said the spread of these diseases occurs when tiny bacteria remain on needles after they have been used and then are transferred to another person.
Another concern she has is how patients will afford treatment if they do contract one of these diseases.
“The cost associated with these are really high, HIV and Hepatitis are hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat and then endocarditis, if someone needs a new heart valve it’s very very expensive and general antibiotics are really expensive too,” Smith Mount said.
She said that most insurance plans do not fully cover the treatments for these diseases.
The harm reduction program will continue providing education, infectious disease testing, and other services despite the end of the syringe distribution program.
The program is scheduled to officially end on December 16.