Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. The opioid epidemic has received a lot of attention in Indiana, and for good reason. Drug overdose deaths – which are currently being driven by misuse of opioids, including prescription painkillers, heroin and synthetic opioids like fentanyl – resulted in the death of almost 1,300 Hoosiers in 2016. A recent National Safety Council survey found that 80% of Indiana employers reported workplace issues related to employee use of prescription opioids. And Indiana’s Department of Child Services reports that the number of children in foster care has risen dramatically due in large part to the opioid crisis. In […]

Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. There are many important efforts underway across Indiana to tackle the opioid epidemic. Stakeholders in the public, private and non-profit sectors – first responders, health systems, government agencies, employers and others – are allocating significant resources to help Hoosiers struggling with addiction find effective treatment, to help family members impacted by a loved-one’s addiction receive support and services, to make it harder for people to access opioids illegally, and to reduce the negative health consequences often associated with addiction. Most of these efforts are focused on addressing the challenges that occur when someone has already become addicted […]