Berrien County health officials propose two-year harm-reduction pilot in Niles, Benton Harbor
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Summary
The Berrien County Health Department proposed a two-year, state-funded harm-reduction pilot to establish two sites in Niles and Benton Harbor offering syringe services, testing, naloxone and referrals; MDHHS grant funds would cover the $91,000 program and the county reports no local match is required.
Guy Miller, a presenter from the Berrien County Health Department, told the county board the department will seek an authorizing resolution next week to accept state funds for a two-year harm-reduction pilot in Berrien County.
Miller said the program would provide referrals to substance-use-disorder treatment, overdose-prevention services, HIV and hepatitis C testing, vaccines, medication take-back, safe syringe disposal, and free sterile syringes. "In terms of Berrien County's investment, $0," Miller said when asked what the county would contribute to the $91,000 state match grant.
The department cited data showing Berrien County among the higher-incidence counties in Michigan for acute hepatitis C and identified Niles and Benton Harbor as local hot spots. Miller said the county's three-year provisional average overdose-death rate was about 33.4 per [100,000], compared with a state average of roughly 29.2, and that program uptake often lags in the first year.
Miller described a partnership with CoreWell Health to operate weekly outreach clinics at a Niles clinic and a Benton Harbor site adjacent to substance-use-disorder providers, offering warm handoffs into treatment. He said the program would follow best practices from established programs in Kalamazoo and other Michigan jurisdictions and would distribute fentanyl test strips and naloxone.
Dr. Beyer, introduced during public comment as an ER physician associated with the health department, emphasized the program's emphasis on trust and "wraparound services," saying services that are nonjudgmental and that provide wound care, naloxone and continuity of care increase the likelihood patients will accept help and enter treatment.
Miller said Michigan currently lists 37 syringe-service organizations operating across roughly 141 sites statewide and said gaps remain in border counties near Berrien. He acknowledged that some performance measures are uncertain because prevalence is undercounted until testing increases, and said the department will track key performance indicators including numbers served, testing volume, and linkages to care.
The Board of Health planned to consider endorsing the proposal and to forward an authorizing resolution to the personnel and human services committee; Miller said corporate counsel will review legal questions according to procedure. No formal board vote on the resolution occurred at the meeting.
Next steps: the health department will submit the authorizing resolution for committee review next week, corporate counsel will review legal questions, and the board's personnel and human services committee will consider the measure before any final board action.
