According to the CDC, the spread of Hepatitis C in North Carolina jumped a staggering 200 percent between 2007 and 2011. The Orange County Health Department is working to combat those statistics with a new initiative.
“We know that there’s an overwhelming amount of evidence that increasing access to clean syringes is a cost effective way to decrease the transmission of HIV and Hep C,” said Robin Gasparini, a nursing supervisor at the Orange County Health Department.
Gasparini is working on the new Syringe Initiative – something that was illegal until this month.
“We’re trying to reduce the spread of HIV, AIDS, viral Hepatitis and other blood born diseases that impact our communities,” she said. “And we’re also trying to reduce needle stick injuries to law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel.”
On July 11, Governor McCrory signed House Bill 972 which legalized syringe exchange programs in North Carolina. The latest legislation allows for government and private agencies to establish exchange programs where citizens can get sterile syringes as well as deposit their used ones for safe disposal. Within days of the bill passing, the Orange County Health Department’s syringe initiative is already up and running.
“We know that we have a lot of individuals in the community who use needles for a lot of different reasons,” Gasparini said. “Chronic illness, diabetics, people who take allergy shots and things like that, in addition to IV drug use, so we have a lot of needles that need to be disposed of properly and this provides access for that as well.”
The initiative also connects people who struggle with addiction to health care services, housing, career training, and drug testing and treatment programs.
“This has been a controversial topic but we’re very excited to be able to offer such an important initiative that is going to address this hidden but stigmatized and very large public health issue,” Gasparini said.
This legislation comes in the wake of the naloxone initiative – legislation that made the life-saving opioid reversal drug more accessible. Gasparini says the new syringe initiative will work in tandem with noloxone as they both seek to address overdose issues in the community.
The Orange County Health Department has been working on its syringe program for several months, preparing for the new legislation.
“We have been looking and investigating and really gearing up over the last three to four months to provide syringes to the community since the early part of the year when we had need brought to our attention.”
Gasparini says the health department is ready to serve the community’s needs and is now working to establish a trusting relationship with those in need of the syringe initiative.
“We have our drop boxes, we’re ready to go, we have our syringes ready to distribute as needed, so I think moving forward its about engaging the community and building that trust with individuals who may need our services,” Gasparini said.
There are drop boxes in the lobbies of both clinics in Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. More information about the initiative can be found on the Health Department’s website.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines