Dr. Jennifer Bales, Wayne County’s health officer, sees benefits from extending the county’s syringe services program that expires June 30.
She presented her thoughts and data about the program to the Wayne County Board of Health during its May 13 meeting. Bales said the county continues facing a intravenous drug problem and a ongoing epidemic of hepatitis C. The program also provides access to other services that result in participants’ improved health.
“I do think it has shown some success in hepatitis C reduction,” Bales said. “It provides people with access to treatment that they might not otherwise have. It provides them to access with Narcan.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says syringe service programs like Wayne County’s are proven to save lives, prevent overdose deaths, and reduce the impact of drug use on a community.
The syringe program is run from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and Friday at Centerstone’s 100 N. 15th St. facility in Richmond. Participants exchange used syringes for new, which are provided by Reid Health.
The exchange can distribute a maximum 100 syringes to any participant, while asking state-mandated questions and providing educational material. The program also includes distribution of condoms and Narcan, sexually transmitted infection and infectious disease testing and insurance navigation. The program also enables the health department to respond and pick up needles found in the community.
Wayne County first established the syringe program during August 2016. At that point, the county’s adjusted level of new hepatitis C cases was 240.4 per 100,000 people. That dropped to 122.5 new cases per 100,000 people during 2023, the latest year for which statistics are available; however, that was second-worst rate in Indiana.
Last year, the program served 1,234 repeat participants and 88 new participants. Bales said a new participant is three times more likely to seek treatment than before participating. The program distributed 200,466 syringes and estimates it received 205,226 in return.
Bales, a Reid emergency room doctor, said it’s obvious an IV drug use problem continues in the county. The health department’s distribution of Narcan continues to increase, but there were still 41 overdose deaths in 2024, the lowest number since 2016’s 34 deaths.
Bales said a study of new HIV cases, which are not now a problem in Wayne County, showed that shuttering a syringe program results in 2.6-fold increase in infections during the next five years.
The health board supported 6-0 a declaration that there is a continued hepatitis C emergency. It voted 5-1 to recommend the county extend its syringe services program, with Mark Broeker voting against the recommendation. Commissioners have final authority over whether the program is extended. During 2023, Jeff Plasterer and Mary Anne Butters voted in favor of an extension, and Brad Dwenger opposed the extension. Aaron Roberts has now replaced Butters as the District 2 representative.
Health First Indiana
Wayne County’s funding from the 2-year-old Health First Indiana initiative will drop about 73.5% for 2026.
Burk told the health board that the county received about $1,562,000 in 2025, but that figure’s slashed to $414,000 for 2026. That’s leading to cuts, such as two full-time medical assistants and a part-time clerk.
The health department also used its 2024 and 2025 funding to contract with seven community partners to implement programs targeting key HFI indicators. Burk said there might only be money to maintain one or two of those.
Burk showed the health board his proposed 2026 HFI budget that totals $809,000. He’s working to save money this year to hopefully carry over money into 2026 that will cover the budget. The department carried about $300,000 from the 2024 HFI funding into 2025.
Services paused
Poshia Slusher, the department’s family nurse practitioner, has resigned, causing the department to pause some services.
The services impacted include school sports and Indiana Department of Transportation physicals as well as hepatitis C and HIV treatments, Burk said.
The board approved Burk reducing hours for a new nurse practitioner, who would only see patients when working.
Other business
The board approved adopting a policy that requires people seeking services show an Indiana driver’s license or valid identification card. The policy meets new Health First Indiana requirements of verifying residency before using HFI money to provide a service.
Jeff Butler is resigning from the health board because he’s moving out of the county.
Updated May 22, 2025 at 11:39 a.m. to correct the health board’s vote count regarding extending the syringe services program. An earlier version of the article incorrectly stated the vote in favor of recommending an extension was unanimous. The board voted 5-1 to recommend the county extend its syringe services program, with Mark Broeker voting against the recommendation.
A version of this article appeared in the May 21 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.