News Coverage

Trump vows to step up effort on addiction (Baltimore Sun)

Mar 31st, 2017

President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to increase federal efforts to confront opioid addiction as his administration created a commission to study ways to expand treatment programs across the nation.

In a meeting with recovering addicts and advocates at the White House, the president said opioid and heroin addiction had become "a crippling problem" and he repeatedly said he was frustrated the issue hadn't received more attention.

"Drug cartels have spread their deadly industry across our nation, and the availability of cheap narcotics, some of it comes in cheaper than candy, has devastated our communities," said Trump, who also raised the issue during his campaign last year. "Nobody really wants to talk about it."

...

"Any attention to the public health emergency of opioid addiction is important; hearing the president talk about addressing the opioid crisis is important," said Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore's health commissioner.

"But we need to move beyond rhetoric," she said. "We know what works when it comes to treating the disease of addiction. We now need the resources to be able to combat this epidemic."

Read the entire story.

Trump opioid commission leaves out key stakeholder (Modern Healthcare)

Mar 31st, 2017

Experts focused on finding ways to curb the number of overdoses in the U.S. say there's one very important person missing from President Donald Trump's commission—any representative from the federal agency regulating prescription drugs.

“There's quite a bit the Food and Drug Administration could be doing and hasn't done,” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University, referring to stricter federal regulation of prescription painkillers which physicians have often used to treat common chronic conditions such as back pain and fibromyalgia.

Trump on Wednesday introduced a high-profile group that is tasked with reporting on ideas and progress towards curbing the nation's opioid epidemic. It includes New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—who has led several statewide efforts to address heroin addiction—U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Defense Secretary James Mattis and HHS Secretary Tom Price.

Read the entire story.

Healthwatch With Dr. Leana Wen: ACA's Uncertain Future; Opioid Crisis Update (WYPR)

Mar 30th, 2017

In a dramatic political showdown last week on the nation’s health insurance system, the Republican-led House and a determined President Trump tried but failed to repeal and replace The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare. Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision to withdraw his controversial bill, because of defections by both conservative and moderate Republicans, means the ACA remains the law of the land. But with opponents still vowing to bring the program down, are critical medical coverage and public health services still in jeopardy? 

Concerns were also raised this month by the Trump Administration’s proposed 2018 budget, which would boost defense spending and sharply reduce funding to federal agencies like Health and Human Services, whose budget would be cut by 18% next year. What would such cuts mean for the future of medical research, maternal health care and addiction treatment?

For now, Governor Larry Hogan's declaration earlier this month of a State of Emergency provides an extra 50 million dollars over the next five years to combat the heroin and opioid epidemic in Maryland, and help support the state's prevention, recovery and enforcement efforts. 

Today, it’s another edition of the Midday Healthwatch, our monthly visit with Dr. Leana Wen, the Health Commissioner of the City of Baltimore. She joins Tom in the studio to talk about the ACA going forward, the state's continuing battle against the opioid epidemic, and other issues on the front lines of public health.

Listen to the entire show.

Disparities persist in health of Marylanders, ranking says (Baltimore Sun)

Mar 30th, 2017

Baltimore is the least healthy jurisdiction in Maryland followed by several Eastern Shore counties, according to an annual ranking that has changed little over the past several years despite improvements in some of the city's worst statistics.

Wealthier suburban counties such as Montgomery and Howard were ranked as the healthiest in the state.

The 2016 rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin show a striking gap in the rate of premature death between the healthiest and least healthy areas of the state. Those living in Baltimore lost three and a half times the number of years of life than those in Howard.

The findings were not surprising to public health officials in Baltimore who have sought for years to reduce disparities not only between the city and surrounding counties but between well off and disadvantaged neighborhoods within the city.

"This affirms what we know in public health to be true, that the currency of inequality is years of life," said Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore's health commissioner. "Access to healthcare is important, but what determines how long someone lives and quality of life depends much more on things around them like access to housing and education and income inequality."

Read the entire story.

APhA2017: Connect with patients and listen to their story (Pharmacist.com)

Mar 30th, 2017

Keynote speaker Leana Wen, MD, shared a statistic with the audience at the 2017 APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Francisco during her address at the Second General Session. She said that 80% of the time, it’s the patient’s story that determines his or her diagnosis.

As pharmacists increasingly provide patient care services, listening to the patient is a significant part of how pharmacists and all health care providers can improve care.

“Ultimately, it’s about preserving the dignity and respect of people,” said Wen. “No matter how difficult your day has been, the work we do is bigger than each of us.”

...

Read the entire story.

Zika remains a threat, with 5 cases logged in Maryland this year (Baltimore Sun)

Mar 30th, 2017

Zika is back — the threat never really went away.

Maryland already has logged five cases of the virus among travelers this year and Florida has reported residents infected locally.

With mosquito season about to begin, state and local public health officials are gearing up efforts for a new outbreak of the Zika virus blamed for devastating brain defects in newborns and neurological and eye problems in adults.

The effort to prevent infections gained added urgency this month after researchers tied the mosquito-borne virus to potentially deadly heart problems.

...

In Baltimore, health department officials also handed out kits and worked to drain standing water. They are working on a similar plan for this year.

Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore health commissioner, said the city has an inter-agency task force that is prepared to ramp up education and prevention efforts, and to respond if there is a local case.

Wen, who is pregnant, said residents cannot let down their guard.

"There still seems to be information coming out every week about the risks and transmission," she said. "In the city we were prepared last year and we will continue to be prepared this year."

Read the entire story.

Grading The AHCA As The House Sets Up A Vote (NPR's On Point)

Mar 30th, 2017

It’s an “everything on the line” day in Washington for Republicans and American health care. All week long, a scramble to the vote, promised by the GOP for years, to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare. On the very eve of the vote, House Republicans did not have the votes – their own votes – to do it. The home stretch today, a wild scramble. The horse-trading and trade-offs, hugely consequential for the American people. This hour On Point, the House and your health care. — Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Noam Levey, national health care correspondent for the Lost Angeles Times. (@NoamLevey)

Mary Agnes Carey, partnerships editor and senior correspondent covering health care reform and federal health policy for Kaiser Health News. (@maryagnescarey)

Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Commissioner and emergency room physician. (@DrLeanaWen)
 

Listen to the entire show.

4 Ways that the Proposed Federal Budget Hurts Baltimore’s Older Adults (Opinion: Dr. Leana S. Wen and Hank Greenberg Daily Record)

Mar 30th, 2017

Among the numerous cuts in the Trump Administration’s proposed federal budget plan are critical services that are used to support older Americans. As leaders who, respectively, safeguard the health and well-being of 620,000 residents in Baltimore, and represent the interests of the 50-plus community and their families across Maryland, we are deeply concerned how the proposed budget’s significant cuts will devastate the health and well-being of older adults.

In Baltimore City, there are over 100,000 residents over the age of 60. One in six of these residents live below the poverty line. For older adults of color, that ratio is two in five. The proposed federal budget will worsen rampant disparities and will be disastrous to our city’s older adults.

Read the entire op-ed.

The ACA replacement would devastate America’s health (STAT News)

Mar 30th, 2017

As a physician who has treated patients in the emergency department before and after the Affordable Care Act was instituted, I have seen firsthand how it has transformed the lives of many of my patients. And as the health commissioner for Baltimore city, I have seen how it has safeguarded the lives of more than 40,000 residents in my city, and millions more around the country, who would otherwise be uninsured.

Created in 2010, this is the first federal funding source dedicated to public health. It directly empowers communities to prevent chronic conditions and helps local jurisdictions be more agile in responding to health crises while reducing long-term health costs.

More specifically, these funds are used to prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other chronic conditions that are major causes of death in the United States. The fund also provides support for cities to prevent disease outbreaks, ensuring that our nation is prepared to face developing threats such as bioterrorism and Ebola and other infectious diseases.

Through the ACA, the Prevention and Public Health Fund accounts for nearly one-seventh of the budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — approximately $1 billion a year.

Read the entire op-ed by Dr. Wen. 

'Public Health Saved Your Life Today. You Just Didn’t Know It.' (Governing)

Mar 30th, 2017

For the second episode of "The 23%: Conversations With Women in Government," I chatted with Leana Wen, the health commissioner of Baltimore. Growing up as a Chinese immigrant in a rough area of Los Angeles, Wen quickly saw the ways in which public health impacts everyday life. These days, her mantra is: “Public health saved your life today. You just didn’t know it.” Her dizzying resume includes graduating from college at 18, a master’s from the University of Oxford and a clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School. When Baltimore came calling in 2014, Dr. Wen was practicing and teaching medicine in D.C. RELATED NEW PODCAST Only a few months into her first venture in public service, Baltimore was uprooted with riots after the police-involved death of Freddie Gray. In this episode, Dr. Wen talks about how her office worked quickly to deploy various public health initiatives to get the city back on its feet. She also discusses her aggressive tactics against the opioid epidemic, which caught the attention of President Obama.

Listen to the entire podcast.

Pages