HEALING BEGINS Here

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     Not only are these staggering figures likely underestimated, they also fail to capture the full extent of the damage of the opioid crisis, which reaches across every domain of family and community life—from lost productivity and economic opportunity, to intergenerational and childhood trauma, to extreme strain on community resources, including first responders, emergency rooms, hospitals and treatment centers. However, we believe Kentucky can turn the tide on this scourge. In the largest research grant ever received by the University of Kentucky, researchers from UK spanning six colleges, in partnership with state leaders, will launch a project through the NIH’s HEALing (Helping End Addiction Long Term) Communities Study, a four-year, $87 million study aimed at reducing opioid overdose deaths by 40 percent. Already on the front lines in researching and combating opioid abuse, the HEALing Communities Study places UK squarely among the country’s leaders in finding long-term, sustainable solutions to this epidemic. As one of four sites nationwide, UK and the Commonwealth of Kentucky will address the opioid epidemic in a randomized study that includes 16 Kentucky counties acutely impacted by opioid abuse. The study will leverage existing resources and initiatives, in partnership with communities, to implement strategies and set evidence-based standards that will become a national model for fighting the opioid epidemic. The idea and hope is what works in these communities can be scaled and replicated across the state and country. It is premised on the profoundly powerful idea that communities and a state working together, harnessing the intellectual talent and dogged determination of a flagship research university, can transform lives and communities across the state and the country.