Alex Cohen is the Director of Learning and Evaluation for the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. In Indiana and across the United States, the opioid epidemic continues, with drug overdose deaths involving opioids exceeding 47,000 nationwide in 2017. To help stem the tide, the federal government allocated $11 billion to states in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, according to a recently released report from the Bipartisan Policy Center. In Indiana, which received $159 million in federal opioid funding, this funding has been deployed by the state to strengthen prevention, treatment and recovery efforts and to support research and programs in the criminal justice system. At first glance, Indiana’s portion of federal […]

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 […]

Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. One in three Hoosier adults is obese, and more than two in three are overweight or obese, costing Indiana an estimated $8.5 billion in 2017– most of which is borne by households and the private sector. A report released today by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation underscores these findings, showing that obesity has increased dramatically in Marion County and Indiana, becoming one of the most significant preventable causes of morbidity and mortality. The report shows that in Indiana, obesity rose from 20 percent in 1995 to 34 percent in 2017 – a rate that is the 12th highest […]