SCOTTSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) -- Both Scott and Clark counties have seen disease and infection spread from needle sharing. In fact, then-Governor Mike Pence declared a public health emergency in Indiana in 2015 after more than 70 people contracted the HIV virus.
"When the CDC and the State Department of Health all come knocking on your door in the same week, you know it's really bad," Scott County Health Department Administrator Michelle Matern said.
The public health emergency declaration allowed counties to implement syringe exchange programs, but those were supposed to be terminated next summer. A bill introduced by Sen. Jim Merritt repeals the expiration date of the programs, but it was shot down Tuesday at the statehouse.
"We don't want to take a step back by terminating our program too soon and having another outbreak and experiencing 2015 all over again," Matern said.
Health officials in Scott and Clark counties said it would be detrimental if the programs were terminated in 2021. Numbers show the program has already made a significant impact in those communities. Just in Clark County, overdose numbers are lower than they have been in more than five years. Many patients involved in the syringe service program have even gone into recovery.
Dr. Eric Yazel, who oversees Clark County's program, said the numbers will go back to where they were if there's no extension.
"You'll see increased disease transmission with hepatitis and HIV, and you'll see less people going into recovery," he said.
Health officials said they're confident that the bill will get reworked and that some kind of extension to the program will be grated before the 2021 expiration date.Â
"The syringe service program is not a political issue," Yazel said. "It's a medical issue."
Other counties with syringe exchange programs include Allan, Tippecanoe, Marion, Wayne, Fayette and Monroe counties.
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