North Vernon resident Rex Eaton was honored by a mental health organization for his work in fighting the state’s prescription drug epidemic.
He received the Heroes for Recovery award from Mental Health America Indiana on Dec. 15. Each year Mental Health America Indiana recognizes Indiana residents as heroes in mental health for helping to change the lives of people with mental illnesses and their families, and for promoting recovery in their ongoing treatment of and advocacy for people with serious and persistent mental illness.
Eaton was selected for his advocacy work with his employer, Cordant Health Solutions, which includes a free pain medication take-back program to prevent teens from removing unused opioid medications from home medicine cabinets. The award also was for Eaton’s work for Parkdale Center to create a statewide aftercare program for nurses with a history of substance abuse, and developing a comprehensive program to help hospitals identify and prevent diversion of controlled substances by employees.
