Kentucky will receive nearly $4 million in federal funding over the next four years to combat the epidemic of prescription drug overdoses.
The funding, to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, is part of a $20 million initiative, Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States, launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Under the grant, KIPRC will receive $940,000 a year for the next four years. KIPRC is a partnership between the Kentucky Department for Public Health and the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health that combines academic investigation with practical public health initiatives.
“This funding will give us further resources to continue diminishing the grip that prescription drug abuse and addiction has on Kentucky, and help us prevent overdose deaths related to prescription opioids,” said Gov. Steve Beshear in announcing the funding.
Through the state’s partnership with UK’s College of Public Health, Beshear said these federal dollars will help Kentucky continue to educate the public on the dangers of drug use and abuse, and continue to commit appropriate resources to the strategies the state has taken to reduce the devastating toll of addiction on families and communities.
Kentucky was selected through a competitive process. Also selected were Arizona, California, Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.
The Prevention for States program is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’Opioid Initiative. Individual state allocation is subject to the availability of funds, and will be used to advance prevention, including in these areas:
‣ Enhancing prescription drug monitoring programs.
‣ Putting prevention into action in communities nationwide and encouraging education of providers and patients about the risk of ‣ prescription drug overdose.
‣ Working with health systems, insurers and professional providers to help them make informed decisions about prescribing pain medication.
‣ Responding to new and emerging drug overdose issues through innovative projects, including developing new surveillance systems or communications campaigns.
States can also use the funding to:
‣ Better understand and respond to the increase in heroin overdose deaths.
‣ Investigate the connection between prescription opioid abuse and heroin use.
From Office of the Governor
