When the deputy director of Maternal and Child Health stopped by my desk and asked if I had any interest in helping deliver cribs to new mothers, I thought I’d get the chance to better understand one of the city health department’s most vibrant programs, B’More for Healthy Babies. I didn’t realize, at the time, that I would also get the chance to better understand some of the city’s most vibrant people: its new mothers and their babies.

ANNAPOLIS, MD (October 20, 2015)– Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen testified Tuesday before the Maryland State Joint Committee on Behavioral Health and Opioid Use Disorders to update the General Assembly on the recommendations provided by the Baltimore Mayor’s Heroin Treatment & Prevention Task Force Report and to urge the General assembly to provide support for the report’s recommendations.

“As an ER doctor, I have seen the devastation of heroin addiction firsthand, and as the city’s doctor, I have seen how heroin ties into the very fabric of Baltimore,” said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. “It is impossible to separate heroin use from the rampant health disparities that divide our city. Baltimore has been fighting the heroin epidemic for years, and we look forward to sharing the lessons we learned with our State partners and further collaborate to heal our communities.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 17, 2015)– Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen today delivered a keynote address in front of hundreds of medical professionals at the National Physicians Alliance’s 10th Annual Conference.

A founding member of the National Physicians Alliance (NPA), Dr. Wen spoke before the conference, entitled “Truth to Power: Alliance for the Public Good,” to encourage the importance of physician advocacy to overall community health and reiterated the importance of stronger physician-community relations.

BALTIMORE, MD (October 5, 2015)–Working to improve access to critically needed care, Baltimore City has launched a new, single phone number for Baltimore City residents to use for substance use and mental health crisis calls, services and treatment, and information.

The Crisis, Information & Referral Line, 410-433-5175, will be answered 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, giving people in need of help the opportunity to talk to a trained professional at any time. Creating such a resource is a key recommendation in the city’s recently released report of the Mayor’s Heroin Treatment and Prevention Task Force.