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<br /> <br /> <br />New Syringe Initiative in Orange County <br /> <br />By Erin Wygant <br />Posted July 15, 2016 at 3:32 pm <br />Orange County Health Department <br />According to the CDC, the spread of Hepatitis C in North Carolina jumped a staggering 200 <br />percent between 2007 and 2011. The Orange County Health Department is working to combat <br />those statistics with a new initiative. <br />“We know that there’s an overwhelming amount of evidence that increasing access to clean <br />syringes is a cost effective way to decrease the transmission of HIV and Hep C,” said Robin <br />Gasparini, a nursing supervisor at the Orange County Health Department. <br />Gasparini is working on the new Syringe Initiative – something that was illegal until this month. <br />“We’re trying to reduce the spread of HIV, AIDS, viral Hepatitis and other blood borne diseases <br />that impact our communities,” she said. “And we’re also trying to reduce needle stick injuries to <br />law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel.” <br />On July 11, Governor McCrory signed House Bill 972 which legalized syringe exchange <br />programs in North Carolina. The latest legislation allows for government and private agencies to <br />establish exchange programs where citizens can get sterile syringes as well as deposit their used <br />ones for safe disposal. Within days of the bill passing, the Orange County Health Department’s <br />syringe initiative is already up and running. <br />“We know that we have a lot of individuals in the community who use needles for a lot of <br />different reasons,” Gasparini said. “Chronic illness, diabetics, people who take allergy shots and <br />things like that, in addition to IV drug use, so we have a lot of needles that need to be disposed of <br />properly and this provides access for that as well.” <br />The initiative also connects people who struggle with addiction to health care services, housing, <br />career training, and drug testing and treatment programs. <br />“This has been a controversial topic but we’re very excited to be able to offer such an important <br />initiative that is going to address this hidden but stigmatized and very large public health <br />issue,” Gasparini said. <br />This legislation comes in the wake of the naloxone initiative – legislation that made the life- <br />saving opioid reversal drug more accessible. Gasparini says the new syringe initiative will work <br />in tandem with naloxone as they both seek to address overdose issues in the community.