Madison Co. weighs 4 needle exchange locations to curb hepatitis outbreak
ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) — Madison County Health Department officials will spend this week surveying parts of the county to determine if four locations picked to serve as needle exchanges will remain in place or be subject to change.
The Indiana state health commissioner approved the use of needle exchanges in Madison County earlier this month in response to an outbreak of hepatitis C. County health officials hope to have the testing centers and needle exchanges up and running by early August.
Kellie Kelley, the STD/HIV/hepatitis C program coordinator for the health department, said so far this year 108 people have tested positive for hepatitis C, compared to 134 in all of 2014.
The majority of the cases are linked to intravenous drug use. County health officials are trying to get a grip of the problem quickly in hopes of thwarting the county from spiraling into an HIV crisis, which has plagued Scott and Jackson counties in southern Indiana.
“We want to do it right. We want to do right by a population who is greatly in need,” Kelley said Monday.
According to the syringe exchange program plan published on the county health department’s website, the Madison County Health Department is slated to serve as one needle exchange location along with two other sites in Elwood and Alexandria. A fourth needle exchange would be run out of a mobile unit in Anderson.
But Stephenie Grimes, Madison County’s public health preparedness coordinator, said Monday that all of that could be subject to change based on how users respond to the outreach efforts.
“Even though we have a plan, we are remaining very flexible to make sure we can meet those needs as best as we possibly can,” Grimes said. “We may keep (the Alexandria location). We may decide to be more mobile in that community. We are going to decide that probably this week.”
But health officials plan to keep part of their plans under wraps. The exact dates and hours of operation, Grimes said, will be kept private.
“We don’t want onlookers or people who are curious to see how it’s going to go,” Grimes said. “We don’t want (patients) to fear that they will be judged.”
Among the goals, Grimes said, is to prevent an HIV crisis like the one that has stricken southern Indiana, namely Scott County. Historically, hepatitis C and HIV have about a 90 percent co-infection rate, according to state health officials.
Kelley and Grimes both said they plan to rely on word-of-mouth among drug users to notify the patient population of when and where the needle exchanges will be operating.
When pressed about whether the county health department would face additional public scrutiny by keeping a tax-funded program away from the eyes of the public.
“One of the things that the state has put into place that will ensure transparency is that there will be weekly numbers about how many we’ve served, how many needles have been provided, how many have been returned,” Kelley said. “Those regular reports are built into our obligation.”
During a lengthy interview with 24 Hour News 8, Kelley became emotional when talking about the complexities of trying to tackle a public health crisis that is being driven by personal demons and addictions.
“The truth of the matter is, no one I’ve spoken to is proud of being addicted to an opiate. There is no pride in that – ” she said, interrupted by her own tears. “It’s extremely sad.”
Michael Puckett, who was visiting a loved one in the Madison County courthouse Monday, said the needle exchange is “a great idea.”
But he balked at the idea of keeping some of the details private.
“We have an epidemic out there and if they are going to help they need to help,” he said.
At last check, Fayette County health officials were also considering a needle exchange. Scott County health officials were scrambling on Friday to finalize plans for a new location for a needle exchange and testing center after the state-run facility closed last week.