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Kentucky businesses awarded grant to fight opioid epidemic

Posted at 11:42 AM, Jun 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-25 11:44:28-04

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Chamber Workforce Center has been awarded about $700,000 in grant money to identify how businesses can prevent opioid addiction in the workplace and help employees recover.

The Lexington Herald Leader reports the Center's director, Beth Davisson, announced the Opioid Response Program for Businesses on Monday. She says the Office of Drug Control Policy gifted $350,000 and private donors matched it. The program's goal is to work with businesses to provide free audits of human resources policies and procedures related to addiction and recovery.

Davisson said businesses put funds and policies toward helping employees recover from diseases such as cancer or diabetes, but aren't equipped to help workers through addiction recovery.

She says the grant will also fund a study on how the opioid epidemic is affecting Kentucky's workforce.