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Between 2014 and 2017, the national rate of fatal drug overdoses has increased more than twice as fast among blacks compared to whites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This trend is evident in Washington D.C., where 279 people died from an opioid overdose last year, more than the city’s number of homicides and more than three times the number of opioid deaths in 2014. More than 70 percent of cases involved fentanyl or its analogues, according to the district’s chief medical examiner, and more than 80 percent of victims were black. Indiana has experienced similar trends, where fatal drug overdose rates for black Hoosiers reached an all-time high in 2017.
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In a letter to the editor published in the journal Addiction, Indiana University faculty discuss the statewide implementation of Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes), a model used to increase workforce capacity for the management of medical conditions, including opioid use disorder (OUD). The letter includes research showing the effectiveness of Project ECHO, and how Indiana has designed its program. Indiana’s OUD Project ECHO has three tracks – for prescribers, behavioral health specialists and community health workers. To learn more about the program or to get involved, visit the Project ECHO website.
The Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction has contracted with Oxford House to develop and open 42 recovery houses over the two-year State Opioid Response (SOR) grant cycle (21 in each funding year) from 2018-2020. These are in addition to any recovery houses certified by the Indiana National Alliance for Recovery Residences (INARR). Email SOR Grant Manager Mark Loggins at mark.loggins@fssa.in.gov for more information.
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The CDC published a new report that highlights evidence-based strategies used by community leaders, public health officials, not-for-profit groups, law enforcement and others to prevent opioid overdoses in their communities. The report highlights several strategies, such as targeted naloxone distribution, academic detailing, 911 Good Samaritan laws and more. The report also recognizes states that have had successes with particular strategies and shares research that supports the strategies as effective methods in combating the opioid epidemic.
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