Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. The opioid epidemic isn’t over yet, as evidenced by the latest data from the CDC, which shows that overdose deaths continue to rise – and opioids are the leading cause of these deaths. Addressing the epidemic will take a multi-pronged approach, and a key strategy is to focus on preventing opioid misuse. One important step is to provide the latest information to doctors and other health professionals about safe prescribing practices as well as effective, non-opioid pain management alternatives for patients. This is especially important because – despite a recent decline – Indiana still has one of […]

Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. Earlier this week, the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation released two reports showing that in 2017, the opioid and tobacco epidemics claimed more than 14,200 Hoosier lives and cost our state $12.6 billion in healthcare costs, lost productivity and economic damages. These reports provide an update from the 2016 analyses the Foundation commissioned on Indiana’s opioid and tobacco challenges. While positive steps have been taken to address both health crises, the dynamic nature of the opioid epidemic and the stubborn persistence of tobacco mean more work must be done to make meaningful progress. Everyone – including employers, healthcare leaders, […]