The Buffalo Trace District Health Department offers a syringe access and exchange program (also known as a “syringe exchange”).
Through this free program, people who inject drugs from the Buffalo Trace region: Mason, Fleming, Robertson, Bracken, and Lewis (valid ID will be required) are able to receive sterile injection equipment and additional harm reduction supplies at no cost. No appointment is needed. Participants are also offered information on community resources and treatment options, as well as testing and counseling for HIV, Hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted infections.
The primary goal of the syringe exchange program is to prevent the spread of HIV, Hepatitis C, and other infections that are spread when people who inject drugs share or reuse their syringes or other injection equipment. The annual cost of operating this program for both counties is less than half the annual cost of treating a single case of Hepatitis C. Syringe exchange programs also give people who inject drugs an incentive to dispose of their syringes safely; the program is a one-for-one exchange, so if a participant is issued five syringes one week and only returns three of them to the health department, that participant will only receive three syringes during that visit. This helps prevent used syringes from being discarded in public, where they pose a risk to the public.
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