MORGANTOWN — The numbers almost require a double take.
In 243 days – from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 – Milan Puskar Health Right’s LIGHT program distributed 186,580 syringes.
They were passed out to 545 unique individuals across 1,364 total visits.
That number breaks down to about 767 needles a day, or, per capita, that’s just over six syringes for every person living in the city of Morgantown.
And while Health Right is certainly passing them out in quantity, they’re getting the overwhelming majority of them back — about 94%, or 175,573.
That’s up from the 79% return rate in 2023.
“We are happy with the way the numbers are going,” Milan Puskar Health Right Executive Director Laura Jones said during a recent harm reduction update to Morgantown City Council.
The briefing came as Jones prepares to request the annual approvals needed from the city and county to continue Health Right’s needle exchange program – a requirement since the 2021 passage of SB334 by the West Virginia Legislature.
Additionally, the law mandates syringe service programs provide additional harm reduction services, require proof of residency and account for each syringe distributed under penalty of fines.
Along with the data, Jones arrived with a desire to refute what she calls the “myths” of harm reduction.
“Everyone thinks it causes or increases drug use. This is not true. No one comes to us and says, ‘Hi, I think I want to use, can you give me some syringes?’ Jones said. “The people who come to our program have been using for a long time and they are interested in taking care of themselves and reducing harm. That’s really important because that’s the first step in recovery.”
Harm reduction, she continued, is an evidence-based approach to not only prevent the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C, but connect at-risk community members with treatment, medical or mental health referrals, SNAP, HUD and Medicaid benefits and a number of other services.
It also allows for the distribution of overdose reversal medication, like Narcan. Health Right has been recognized as a national leader in the distribution of the lifesaving drug, having passed out more than 22,000 doses in two years.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 1, the LIGHT program connected 10 people with treatment and made 30 referrals to primary care. It led to 75 HIV screenings and 50 Hep C screenings.
According to information on syringe service programs distributed through WVU’s Bridge Initiative for Science and Technology Policy, Leadership and Communications, nearly one in four West Virginians with HIV acquired it through the use of contaminated syringes. That’s the third highest rate in the country.
That same paper said West Virginia was down to 10 syringe service programs serving 12 counties as of January 2024.
Jones said she credits the LIGHT program with suppressing the kind of HIV outbreaks being experienced in other parts of the state.
“We’re one of the communities that does not have that right now. There are communities in rural areas that have never had an HIV case that are starting to see HIV. So, we feel our program is contributing to not having an HIV outbreak among IV drug users. The [WVU] Positive Clinic would agree with that. We work very closely with them.”
The passage of SB334 led to the closure of exchange programs across West Virginia, including in Marion and Harrison counties. Jones said the quick response teams in those neighboring counties drive people to and from Health Right regularly to get the syringes and services they need.
The LIGHT, or Living in Good Health Together, program began in August of 2015. At one time, it was seeing over 1,000 individuals. Today, it’s about half that number.
Jones said Health Right has always tried to approach the program in a comprehensive manner with a focus on keeping people alive so they can turn their lives around.
“It takes time. Nobody walks in the door their first night and says, ‘I think I’m ready for treatment.’ We have to develop a relationship and a rapport with them. It’s that relationship that eventually leads them to that request,” she said. “We just recently had someone come in who said, ‘I’m done. I’ve had it. This is enough. Get me into treatment.’ We did that. That’s a success we feel good about. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s a good thing.”
