(INDIANAPOLIS) – The latest anti-opioid effort is a coalition of business, health and local government groups.
Indiana Chamber president Kevin Brinegar says business owners can see the opioid epidemic unfolding in front of them. The Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative will help them figure out what to do about it, including how to recognize signs of addiction, where to turn for treatment, and how to rework health coverage to make sure treatment is covered.
RALI will also receive and distribute grants. Its first $25,000 grant is going to the Chamber’s health-care arm, the Wellness Council of Indiana as seed money for an awareness and prescription-disposal campaign. The Council plans to distribute a thousand disposal kits at a health-care summit in September. Executive director Jennifer Pferrer says mixing medications with water and the kit’s chemicals neutralizes the active ingredients and allows safe disposal in the trash, without hunting for a drug takeback location.
Along with the Chamber, the coalition includes the Grange, the Indiana Manufacturers Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the National Consumer League, Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, Drug Free Marion County, the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association, and the National Black Nurses Association.
(Photo: Steve Heap/Thinkstock)
