Utilizing Nursing Services in a Harm Reduction Program

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

Baltimore County Department of Health’s Harm Reduction Program (HRP) provides a continuum of services to people who use drugs which includes HIV and Hepatitis C testing, access to sterile syringes and other safe injection equipment, overdose education and Naloxone distribution, wound care and assessment, immunizations, and supportive services referrals to reduce the risk of overdose and infectious disease transmission in Baltimore County, Maryland. Baltimore County’s HRP is the first syringe services program in the state of Maryland to employ a Public Health Nurse to integrate health-related services within this model.The Public Health Nurse offers a range of health-related promotion services at clinic sites and in the community, including basic nursing education and interventions, such as wound assessment and care, counseling on safer injection techniques and overdose prevention, safer sex and reproductive counseling, and referral to medical care. The Public Health Nurse provides education on a variety of health-related topics and offers vaccinations to clients.Integrating nursing services within a HRP has allowed a marginalized population that does not typically access medical care in traditional settings, to receive necessary health-related interventions and linkage to ongoing medical services