WINFIELD - With the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department's plans to kick off a harm reduction program in December, a similar program in Putnam County may be further down the road.
Dr. Michael Brumage, executive director and health officer of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, updated the Putnam County Board of Health on the harm reduction program at its meeting Tuesday in Winfield. The program, which Brumage outlined during President Barack Obama's visit to Charleston, will include a needle exchange and testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. The health department also plans to offer contraceptive services to women who are addicted to drugs to prevent neonatal abstinence syndrome, Brumage said.
John Law, public information officer with the health department, said the harm reduction program wouldn't offer resources daily, but rather during an allotted period once a week,
"This is being done in about 160 places around the country," Law said of the program. "They hope to move [the program] out to Putnam County once it's perfected."
While the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department contracts with the Putnam County Board of Health to provide services, the board of health must approve to approve the policy decision, Law said.
It's still too early to predict when Putnam may see its own harm reduction program, with venue being a major question.
"The venue is one thing we have to look at...[the program] is structured in a way that people can come in and out anonymously," Law said.
Despite its conspicuous location along Winfield Road, the Putnam Board of Health clinic is among other county agencies being considered by county commissioners to relocate near the Putnam Judicial Building, where additional office space may be built in the future to consolidate county agencies, according to a previous Gazette-Mail story.
The board of health also welcomed its newest director of prevention and wellness, Tina Ramirez, on Tuesday. Ramirez announced that Bonnie's Bus will also make an appearance in Putnam County on Nov. 20. A mobile mammography unit that travels across the state, the bus will be parked at the county courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. A doctor's order is required for screening, and all health insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, are accepted. Any woman over 40 without health insurance will not be turned away, Ramirez said.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.