Governor Matt Bevin and University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto joined US Secretary of Health And Human Services Alex Azard in Washington DC on Thursday, April 18, 2019 to announced a major grant award to combat the opioid epidemic. Researchers from the University of Kentucky’s Center of Drug and Alcohol Research, in partnership with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, will lead the Kentucky CAN HEAL (Communities and Networks Helping End Addiction Long-term) project. The four-year study will receive more than $87 million in funding with the ultimate goal of reducing overdose deaths by 40 percent in 16 counties that represent more than one-third of Kentucky’s population. Among the sixteen counties to be included in the randomized study are Boyd, Knox, and Floyd.