The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) has received $519,117 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand overdose prevention outreach in Indiana counties with high overdose rates. The award was announced on International Overdose Awareness Day, which aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths.
The funding will be used to provide education and training in naloxone use for first responders and lay providers, as well as technical assistance to local coalitions and increasing awareness of opioid prescribing habits. It also will help enhance data reports for counties to inform local efforts to combat overdoses. The award runs through Aug. 31, 2017.
The counties served by the new funding are Clark, Crawford, Delaware, Grant, Jennings, LaPorte, Marion, Morgan, Pulaski, Sullivan, Tipton and Washington. Blackford, Starke, Montgomery, Lawrence, Howard and Vanderburgh counties had already been receiving assistance through another grant.