An initiative led by the Indiana State Medical Association Alliance is showing measurable success in reducing opioid-related deaths in Allen County — and is now poised to expand to Indianapolis and other cities nationwide.

After researching overdose trends across Fort Wayne, the ISMA Alliance installed 19 vending machines that dispense free doses of naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal medication commonly known as Narcan. The project has resulted in a 32% reduction in fatal overdoses in the Fort Wayne area, according to Alliance data.

	Camille Pond Past president of the ISMA and AMA Alliance

“I am so proud of this one,” said Camille Pond, past president of the ISMA and AMA Alliance, during remarks at the 176th ISMA Convention. “We researched and then identified ZIP codes within Fort Wayne with the highest rate of overdoses and installed Narcan dose dispensers at 19 locations. One vending machine with 350 free doses needed to be refilled twice the first week it was installed.”

Pond said the Alliance was invited to join a press conference announcing the results alongside Doug Huntsinger, Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement and Chairman of the Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder. “This meaningful project won a national award and is now being replicated in other states,” Pond said. “In January, the Alliance will expand our initiative to Indianapolis by filling Narcan kits at Overdose Lifeline.”

Founded in 1927, the ISMA Alliance partners with ISMA to support physician families, promote community health, and protect the future of medicine through education and advocacy.

“Our vision is to support physician families and help improve and preserve the integrity of medicine in Indiana,” Pond said. “Because of the support we receive from the ISMA — and sound investing and budgeting — the Alliance can achieve our medically focused missions, and we are forever grateful.”

Beyond the Narcan initiative, the Alliance remains active in communities across the state through programs that address food insecurity, safe infant sleep, health education, and more.

Among its efforts:

• I Sleep Belly Up, a safe-sleep program targeting Indiana ZIP codes with high infant mortality rates, provides free layettes and Pack ’n Plays to new parents.
• Cinderella Dress Day, now in its 25th year, offers free prom dresses and accessories to more than 1,900 underprivileged girls annually. The event also features “sneaky health fair” education booths covering topics like vaccines, healthy relationships, and self-worth.
• Doctors’ Day at Science Central in Fort Wayne drew 1,700 attendees this year for free educational exhibits, safety demonstrations, and positive interactions with local physicians.
• A new Food Insecurity Initiative will deliver “backpacks of support” containing nonperishable foods and books on kindness and budget cooking to families in Indiana’s most poverty-stricken counties, including Grant, Marion, Parke, Wayne and Crawford.

Additionally, the Alliance donated $30,000 this year to nonprofit health programs in Allen, Vigo and Vanderburgh Counties.