State Receives Drug Overdose Prevention Grant

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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aims to help the Indiana State Department of Health prevent prescription opioid overdose deaths. The grant is part of the CDC’s Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States program.
The ISDH did not release a specific number for the grant, but the CDC says it plans to give selected states annual awards between $750,000 and $1 million through 2019. The department of health says the funding will support enhancements to the state’s prescription drug monitoring program at the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, known as INSPECT, as well as improvements to opioid prescribing practices and prevention efforts at the state and community levels.
"As we have seen here in Indiana, opioid overuse is a problem that many people struggle with," said State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams. "This funding will help us gather data to inform strategies on how to prevent opioid overdoses."
The grant will also support a partnership with the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health to evaluate opioid prescribing practices throughout the state. It will also help expand the Indiana Violent Death Reporting System, which will provide data on opioid overdoses at the county level.
Currently, 29 states are receiving funding from the Prevention for States program.