Alex Cohen is the Director of Learning and Evaluation for the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. From July 2016 to September 2017, Indiana’s emergency departments saw a 35 percent increase in opioid overdoses, according to data released this month from the CDC. The most dramatic increases occurred in metropolitan areas like Indianapolis. These numbers indicate that the opioid epidemic shows no signs of slowing down. And they point to a continued need for efforts to address opioid use disorder in Marion County and across the state. Toward that end, Indiana Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement Jim McClelland and Social Services Administration Secretary Jennifer Walthall announced this month a […]

Ellen Quigley is the Vice President of Programs at the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation An Interview with Dr. Krista Brucker, Emergency Room Physician and Co-founder, Project POINT Background In 2016, the Richard M. Foundation awarded a $700,000 grant to support the expansion of an innovative program called Project POINT (Planned Outreach, Intervention, Naloxone and Treatment) at Eskenazi Hospital to tackle the devastating impact of the opioid crisis. This holistic program serves individuals who are brought into the emergency room (ER) after an overdose by connecting them to treatment and the other services they need to rebuild their lives. Dr. Krista Brucker, who helped launch Project POINT in 2015, shared insights […]