Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. “Abusers.” “Reckless criminals.” These are the words of one pharmaceutical executive to describe the hundreds of thousands of Americans with opioid use disorder, uncovered in a wave of litigation facing the nation’s leading drug makers and sellers for their contributions to the opioid crisis. As these investigations bring more information to light, they are sure to change the way Americans think about the opioid epidemic. That’s good news. For too long, the stigma surrounding opioid use disorder has been a barrier to adopting public policies that treat the disease of addiction and prevent drug overdoses and death. Reluctance […]

Ellen Quigley is the Vice President of Programs at the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation An Interview with Mike Thibideau, Director, Indiana Workforce Recovery Initiative Background In February 2018, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Wellness Council of Indiana announced the Indiana Workforce Recovery Initiative, a strategic partnership with Governor Eric Holcomb and his administration to combat the opioid epidemic. The initiative’s mission is to empower the business community by educating and guiding employers through the steps they can take to help their workers struggling with substance use disorder. The objectives of the initiative are to: Identify, evaluate and disseminate best practices in the workplace that support substance use prevention, […]

Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. Every April, we celebrate National Minority Health Month in order to call attention to the health disparities that affect racial and ethnic minorities across the country. This year’s theme of “Active and Healthy” living is timely, given the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation’s recently released report on the obesity epidemic in Marion County and Indiana. This obesity report found that one in three Hoosier adults is obese, and more than two in three are overweight or obese. In Marion County, the rate is even higher with 39 percent of adults having obesity, up from 26 percent in 2005. While […]