Recent News

Dr. Wen Speaks at Public Health 3.0 Conference

Oct 20th, 2016

On Monday afternoon, Dr. Wen joined Karen DeSalvo, Acting Assistant Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, John Auerbach, Director of Policy at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and health directors across the country in Washington, DC at the Public Health 3.0 conference.

BCHD Welcomes New Baltimore Corps Fellows

Oct 18th, 2016

Building off the amazing success we saw in the first year of the program, we are proud to welcome our second cohort of Baltimore Corps fellows to BCHD! Baltimore Corps fellows are integral team members who help support, improve, and even create new programs which help address public health issues to help build strong, healther communities. Check out their profiles.

Baltimore Is Attacking the Roots of Violence with Public Health Measures—and Saving Lives (Scientific American)

Oct 17th, 2016

In Baltimore, violence has become a near-daily occurrence. In 2015, for example, this city of more than 620,000 people saw 344 homicides.

Addressing trauma in Baltimore (Baltimore Sun)

Oct 16th, 2016

When I first came to Baltimore, I had a series of "listening tours." One of the most poignant experiences was with a group of youth — some no more than 8 years old. I asked them to share the single biggest issue on their minds. Their answers shocked and saddened me; the biggest problem these children saw was mental health.

They didn't say those words, but what they spoke about was trauma — trauma of watching people they loved being shot and killed; trauma of not knowing whether they would have a bed to sleep in or dinner that night; trauma of being the only person in the household who gets up in the morning because everyone else is addicted to drugs.

Baltimore's success a model for region on heroin (Cincinati Enquirer)

Oct 16th, 2016

The surest way to achieve success is to model those who are already successful. That's why lawmakers and public health officials in Ohio and Kentucky should be paying close attention to how Baltimore is dealing with the problem of heroin and other illicit drugs.

In the Enquirer's series, "Lessons from Baltimore," reporter Terry DeMio details how that city, which has a heavily addicted population, is battling the opioid epidemic with a great degree of success. This editorial board has applauded the ongoing efforts and collaborations among regional health agencies to combat this deadly scourge, but we've also been clear that greater investment needs to be made in treatment and prevention. Admittedly, there are political and economic differences that make a direct comparison between Baltimore and Greater Cincinnati difficult, but nonetheless there are takeaways our region could learn from.

B'More for Healthy Babies Celebrates 7 Successful Years!

Oct 14th, 2016

Baltimore City Health Department employees, elected officials, city representatives, and families from across Baltimore City came together on Thursday evening at the National Aquarium to celebrate seven years of success in reducing infant mortality rates at an event honoring the B'more for Healthy Babies initiative.

Last week, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Dr. Wen, and community partners celebrated the lowest recorded infant mortality rate in the city – a 38 percent reduction since B’More for Healthy Babies began.

Dr. Wen Speaks on Future of Health at Consumer Reports 80th Anniversary Celebration

Oct 14th, 2016

On Thursday, Dr. Wen spoke on a panel for Consumer Reports’ 80th Anniversary event with Julia Angwin, Senior Reporter at ProPublica, Michel Nischan, chef and food activist, and moderator Wendy Bounds, Executive Director, Content for Consumer Reports about the future of healthcare.On Thursday, Dr. Wen travelled to New York City to speak on a panel for Consumer Reports’ 80th Anniversary event.

BCHD Hosts Community Celebration for ReCAST Grant

Oct 14th, 2016

Earlier this week, Health Commission Dr. Leana Wen, U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) representative Melodye Watson, and BCHD Youth Health and Wellness Coordinator Andy Masters joined dozens of community members in the Penn-North to discuss how a newly awarded five-year, $5 million ReCAST grant will help change the way we view our communities and how others view Baltimore.

Dr. Wen Speaks on Leading Ladies Panel at WOW Conference

Oct 14th, 2016

Last Saturday, Dr. Leana Wen spent the afternoon at Notre Dame of Maryland University with Redonda Miller, President of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Sonja Santelises, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, Chief Melissa Hyatt: Special Operations and Development Devision of the Baltimore Police Department, and moderator Denis Koch, WJT-TV News Anchor, speaking on the Women of the World (WOW) Baltimore Leading Ladies Panel.

Going to the street to arm anti-heroin 'first responders' (Cincinati Enquirer)

Oct 13th, 2016

The third in a four-part series.

BALTIMORE - The streets are barren in this East Baltimore neighborhood, save for one active stretch that abuts a few boarded up, brick buildings.

This is a hub of open drug sales. A car pulls up, a hand comes out, there's a trade-off, a bag of something for cash.

A crushed box of the heroin overdose reversal drug naloxone is stuffed under a cracked cement step outside a building.

Someone overdosed here, says Nathan Fields, a Baltimore opioid overdose response prevention trainer. Someone tried to reverse the overdose with naloxone.

Just feet from the drug hand-offs and small social circles, the Behavioral Health System of Baltimore crew sets up a table and piles on naloxone kits.

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