The Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) is proud to announce its participation in the Indiana Network for the Prevention and Treatment of Opioid Addiction (INPTOA). Through this network, HFL has received a $79,000 grant to be used to support INPTOA’s purpose of providing single county and multi-county collaborative grants to assess, prevent, and treat opioid addiction, and provide community financial support for housing, employment, monitoring, and counseling.
In 2016, former Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller seeded the creation of a statewide network of Indiana foundations with a $500,000 matching grant from Indiana’s Consumer Protection Education Fund. A group of foundations collectively matched $500,000 by December 31, 2016. INPTOA’s priority is placed on awarding grants to underserved areas of Indiana and for innovative approaches to addiction. This network was found necessary because opioid abuse and addiction is a nationwide epidemic and Indiana is one of the most affected states.
On July 28, 2017, the INPTOA awarded sub-grants to the following foundations who provided the original matching funds: Community Foundation of Elkhart County, Community Foundation of Noble County, Community Health Network Foundation, Healthcare Foundation of La Porte, K21 Health Foundation, The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, and The Lutheran Foundation.
HFL’s grant is being used to contract the Center for Health Policy from the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health to conduct a three-part study that will assess the burden of opioid addiction in La Porte and identify the community’s needs or gaps in providing adequate treatment services. The report will culminate in a recommended strategic plan for how community organizations can effectively respond to the opioid crisis.
“We need to fully understand the issue on a local level and evaluate the solutions that will allow us to impact the greatest level of change for our community,” said HFL President and CEO Maria Fruth. “We are excited for this opportunity to bring key community partners around the table and use our collective efforts to address this issue.”
HFL has also sub-contracted the La Porte County Drug Free Partnership to coordinate the effort with the Center for Health Policy from the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. The Drug Free Partnership will help to facilitate gathering information and data for the study and to organize efforts between the local community partners and stakeholders.
The project period will be from August 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. The deliverables will include an Assessment of Opioid Abuse in La Porte and Surrounding Counties, Capacity/Gaps Assessment and Recommendations to Address the Opioid Crisis. The final report of all findings will be complete and made public by March 31, 2018.