Each year in Ohio, about 1,000 people are diagnosed with HIV, and about 5 percent are the result of injection drug use, according to state health statistics.
While local health officials say they’ve seen no sign of a significant increase in new HIV infections as a result of the drug epidemic, the needle-exchange program is intended to prevent a potential outbreak in the Miami Valley.
“We operate on the premise of harm reduction, and that means reducing harm to yourself and to others,” said Andrea Young, who supervises the HIV/AIDS programs for Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County. “From that standpoint, I think we’ve made a difference.”
Of the 1,134 total visits the program had last year, 841 were repeat visits, and 282 were new clients, according to Young said, who said the program — funded by the local health department — spent just over $32,000 last year on medical supplies and staff, including outreach workers and a health insurance enrollment counselor.
Statewide, needle-exchange programs are handing out 54,000 needles a month in five Ohio cities, including Dayton, Cleveland, Portsmouth, Cincinnati, and Columbus, according to a recent report from The Center for Community Solutions, a nonprofit think-tank.
Such programs have been growing since a the state law was changed last year to allow local health departments to conduct needle exchange programs without declaring a public health emergency.
Critics condemn the programs as simply another means to enable drug users.
But the ultimate goal of the program in Dayton is to divert drug users into treatment programs to help stem the surge in drug overdoses and addiction, Young said.
“We don’t just hand out needles,” she said, noting the program offers such services as testing for HIV and hepatitis C, overdose prevention, and drug treatment referral. “We try to make the program as comprehensive as possible, which is why we’re trying to add more and more services each year.”
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