City gives final nod to needle exchange

ELKO – Trac-B Harm Reduction Clinic now has an agreement with the city to provide new, clean syringes in a needle-exchange program at the Elko Humanitarian Campground, and the program manager for Elko said he is anxious to begin.

Richard Cusolito said there are only three people at the camp now injecting drugs, and he will be starting the syringe exchange “while I work on getting them into rehabilitation.” He said campground residents have been sharing needles, which is a health risk.

The campground has had more residents in the past using illegal drugs, but Cusolito, who works part-time for Trac-B and part-time for Friends In Service Helping, said a number of those former campers have been “steered into rehab.”

Only people registered with FISH can use the city campground, and the city’s new program for exchanging used needles for new needles only applies to people who live at the campground on Hot Springs Road. Cusolito said, however, that he hopes the program can be expanded eventually.

“I will take what I can get now,” he said, but he told the Elko City Council at its Feb. 25 meeting that there are “a lot of people doing a lot of dope” in the city who could be helped. The city agreement with Trac-B specifically states that the clinic can only operate the needle exchanges at the campground.

Cusolito said his goal is to work himself out of a job. He is a certified client outreach specialist after Trac-B training. Trac-B is based in Las Vegas.

Elko City Council approved a resolution establishing the program and a revocable agreement with Trac-B at the Feb. 25 meeting, after instructing staff last month to prepare the agreement and bring the pact to the council for final action.

Councilman Robert Schmidtlein pointed out that the agreement calls for a daily inspection at the campground, and Mayor Reece Keener asked Cusolito if that would be a problem. Cusolito said if the requirement is for a daily inspection, “that’s fine. It’s strictly about getting people healthy.”

The agreement is for one year and calls for quarterly reports from Trac-B on the number of syringes handed out and the number of the used syringes received in exchange. Trac-B also will be responsible for collecting and disposing of all discarded syringes at the campground, according to the pact.

The city also wants certification that all used syringes collected from the campground were “disposed of in accordance with all federal, state and local laws and regulations.”

In addition, the agreement states that Trac-B must provide to all recipients of new syringes “verbal and written instruction on methods for preventing the transmission of blood-borne pathogens,” information and referral for drug and alcohol treatment and instructions on how to use and obtain naloxone use in case of overdose.