Indiana, IUPUI Addressing Opioid Epidemic

Indiana has a serious opioid problem and it’s only getting worse. IUPUI has partnered with state health leaders to address this crisis.  

Marion County has the highest death by drug overdose rate than any state in the nation with 37.4 deaths per 100,000 people. Of those overdoses, 81% of them were caused by opioids. Between 2011-2017, there was a 123% increase in overdose deaths by residents of Marion County and a 75% increase in Indiana as a whole. In 2017, the state of Indiana reached an all-time high with more than 1,700 Hoosiers dying from drug overdose.

These numbers, obtained from a study conducted by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, have state leaders attention. That is why the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation gave out a $376,000 grant to create The Community Behavioral Health Academy. A program launched by the partnership of Community Behavioral Health at Community Health Network, the Indiana University School of Social Work at IUPUI, the University of Indianapolis and Ascend Indiana to address the opioid epidemic.

The program, designed to address the lack of trained behavioral health professionals, will annually yield 15-30 dually licensed clinical social workers and addiction counselors. This comes after Indiana fell 7,000 workers short of meeting the need.

Factors that have contributed to the need of trained behavioral health professionals includes low pay and stressful working conditions. This program is set to address these issues by, per the grantee’s website, “offering students financial incentives, licensure support and employment pathways following graduation."