Inside INdiana Business is reporting that the U.S. Office of Minority Health has awarded the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering at Purdue University a $1.1 million grant. The funds are part of the Empowered Communities for a Healthier Nation Initiative, which will provide three years of support to communities impacted by the opioid epidemic.
The center’s ECI project’s goal is to reduce prescription opioid abuse and increase patient access to addiction treatment and recovery services.
The project’s intervention work already has begun in Fayette County, which has one of the highest annual opioid death rates in the state.
Several stakeholders have partnered with Purdue on the ECI project, including Fayette Regional Health System, the Fayette Health Department, and two local behavioral health groups: Meridian Health Services and Centerstone. The Fayette County Drug Coalition is also on board.
The final goal of the project will be to disseminate best practices for the prevention and treatment of addiction epidemics to other rural communities throughout the Midwest.
To read more about the project, click here.