Needle exchange program up for city commission approval

A one-for-one clean syringe access exchange program developed by the Warren County Health Department is expected to come up for a vote at Tuesday's Bowling Green City Commission meeting.

The resolution calls for the local health department to develop an "evidence-based" program to prevent and control the spread of communicable diseases associated with injection-drug use in the city.

"According to Senate Bill 192, three bodies must agree on a needle-exchange program – the county fiscal court, the city commission and the board of health," said Dennis Chaney, district director of the Barren River Area Health Department, on Friday.

The Warren County Health Department approved the plan June 13, Chaney said. The health department district includes Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Simpson and Warren counties.

The municipal order said Warren County is suffering from a heroin and other drug-use situation that results in overdoses and untimely deaths, emergency room visits and hospitalizations, babies born to mothers addicted to drugs, increasing rates of communicable diseases, law enforcement arrests and incarcerations.

Chaney said the program has four objectives: getting clean syringes into the hands of injection-drug users, creating a one-to-one needle exchange, having the opportunity to test the drug users at their consent and educating the users about resources in the area.

"About 40 stakeholders attended community forums in 2015 and 2016 about the program," Chaney said. For example, under the program, an injection-drug user can bring 20 dirty needles anonymously to the health department and receive 20 clean needles.

Chaney said a program under Senate Bill 192 began May 26 in Louisville and has had more than 3,400 participants. The program screened 303 participants for hepatitis C and found 135 new hepatitis C cases, he said.

The cost for the program hasn't been determined.

"We have no idea what to expect in utilization," Chaney said.

If approved, the needle-exchange program would be initially based at the Warren County Health Department at 1109 State St.

The city commission resolution noted Kentucky has more than 56,000 residents identified with chronic hepatitis C infection. Closer to home, Warren County has more than 170 reported cases of HIV infection.

For every dollar spent on a syringe access exchange program, between $3 and $7 is saved on costs associated with HIV infection, the municipal order said.