The West Virginia Department of
Health and Human Resources (DHHR), Bureau for Public Health (BPH) has received
a request from Dr. Dominic Gaziano, interim health officer at the
Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, and from Charleston Mayor Danny Jones to
conduct an evaluation of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department’s harm
reduction program. BPH has agreed to conduct an evaluation as a part of
its statewide responsibility to monitor and support the administration and
operations of local health departments.
“Our goal as it relates to this
evaluation is to use the information gathered by epidemiologists to further
enhance harm reduction efforts across West Virginia to help save lives, reduce
the spread of infectious disease, and enable persons who are living with
addiction to get the treatment and rehabilitation they need to be able to return
to the workforce,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, State Health Officer and Commissioner
of DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health.
In 2017, BPH invested $600,000 in
federal funding to support harm reduction activities at 11 health care entities
across the state including the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.
Currently, there are 13 certified harm reduction programs operating across West
Virginia.
In addition to syringe exchange,
harm reduction programs provide counseling and rehabilitation referral, risk factor
assessment and screening, outreach and education, appropriate referral for
infectious disease treatment, and naloxone training.
“Harm reduction programs are an
extremely important set of public health strategies and interventions that aim
to reduce morbidity and mortality among substance users,” said DHHR Cabinet
Secretary Bill J. Crouch. “We believe an effective harm reduction program
can be operated that protects the public health of our citizens and addresses
the important concerns of law enforcement and emergency service
personnel. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
strongly supports harm reduction programs in West Virginia as they reduce the
likelihood of transmission of blood borne diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis
C, and HIV. DHHR supports communities that choose to offer harm reduction
clinics coupled with a substance use treatment program.”
More information about harm
reduction programs in West Virginia may be found at www.harmreductionwv.org.