WEKU Partnership Brings Positive Change in Kentucky Counties Challenged by Drug Use
Pastor Brad Epperson, Nurse Mandy Watson and physician’s assistant Troy Brooks couldn’t have been more set against a needle exchange program in Powell County, the place they call home, worrying that it would enable drug users to continue using. But more and more they were seeing family members and friends dying on the streets of their small mountain community, or finding used needles at playgrounds, or hearing stories about outbreaks of HIV and Hepatitis C in other communities.
With the help of another Powell County native – Kevin Hall, of the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department – they convinced local leaders of the critical need for this tool to fight the worst health risks of the heroin epidemic. Powell County became one of the first needle exchange programs in a region determined to be high risk for an HIV outbreak by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The needle exchange program provides clean needles, but offers health screens and referrals to treatment.
WEKU-based Ohio Valley ReSource reporter Mary Meehan told their remarkable story using a long-form radio feature, an in-depth web story and a variety of data-driven graphics. Soon after, the Madison County Health Department used the success in Powell County, and Meehan’s story, to explain the need for a needle exchange in this area. That program is now up and running.
Kacy Allen-Bryant, Lexington-Fayette County Board of Health chair said that kind of in-depth health reporting produces real-world results. “When talking about the needle-exchange program, it’s easy for people to get swept up in the numbers,” she said. “While we are extremely proud of the number of people who have used our program, reports like the one by Mary Meehan for WEKU and the Ohio Valley ReSource show what’s truly important: the human lives that are being changed, and in some cases saved, through needle exchanges.”
The Ohio Valley ReSource is a regional journalism collaborative among seven public media outlets in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. The eight member team is possible because of the support of Eastern Kentucky University and WEKU.
Stories are shared and aired on all seven stations, broadening and deepening local coverage which strengthens WEKU’s stewardship.
The ReSource dives deep into regional issues of the economy, energy, environment, agriculture and infrastructure. The stories explore how dramatic changes to the region’s traditional economic base are intertwined with social and cultural challenges. The ReSource also aims to share challenges and best practices as communities cope with a shifting economy and increasingly dire health disparities.
Learn more about the Ohio Valley ReSource at ohiovalleyresource.org.
Published on September 10, 2018