Recent News

Research, experts: ending needle exchange won't make problems disappear (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

Charleston, WV, Mayor Danny Jones, is proposing to end the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department’s needle exchange program. Dr. Patrick Chaulk, Assistant Comissioner for HIV/STD Services talks about Baltimore's harm-reduction program. 

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Bmore Healthy Newsletter: March 9, 2018

Click here to read the 3/9/18 newsletter. Subscribe to the Bmore Healthy newsletter.

In this issue:

  • Note from the Commissioner
  • Health Department Joins Lawsuit Against President Trump
  • Baltimore Times: Dr. Wen Shares Her Personal Story in Women’s History Month Profile
  • WEAA 88.9FM: Dr. Wen Discusses Health Department’s Efforts for a Healthier Baltimore
  • and more

Baltimore joins forces with teen health charity to sue feds over slashed funding (Baltimore Business Journal)

Baltimore City will join an existing lawsuit against the federal government seeking the restoration of grant funding supporting the city's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.

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Leana Wen

Note From The Commissioner: Fighting for our Girls, Women, & Families

This week, Baltimore City announced that we will be joining a lawsuit against President Trump, challenging his Administration’s cut in federal funding for evidence-based reproductive health education programs.

In July 2017, the Health Department received notice from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Adolescent Health that the grant period for Baltimore City’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program would be terminated two years early. This amounts to a reduction in overall funding from $8.6 million to $5.1 million – a cut of $3.5 million.

This funding cut will result in reduced access to evidence-based teen pregnancy curricula for 20,000 students in Baltimore, creating a vacuum in critical health education for thousands of vulnerable teens. It eliminates the capacity to train teachers in evidence-based reproductive health education and jeopardizes our Youth Advisory Council—Baltimore City teens who act as peer health advocates.

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Baltimore to join lawsuit to restore teen pregnancy education funding (Daily Record)

Baltimore city will join a federal lawsuit asking the federal government to restore promised grant funding to a program that provides evidence-based education to reduce teen birth rates. “This cut is shocking and unprecedented,” said Dr. Leana Wen, the Baltimore City Health Commissioner.

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Leana Wen

Conference reflects on racial inequality in U.S. (Johns Hopkins News-Letter)

The Hopkins 21st Century Cities Initiative partnered with the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at the University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley) to host a conference titled “Race and Inequality in America: The Kerner Commission at 50” on Feb. 28 and March 1.

The panel on public health in cities, focusing on how it relates to black neighborhoods and other marginalized communities, featured Baltimore City Commissioner of Health Dr. Leana Wen, Center for Disease Control epidemiologist Robert Hahn and Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Berkeley School of Public Health Mahasin Mujahid. 

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Leana Wen

`Safe Streets’ Seeks Funds to Expand (Afro)

A group of city delegates, including Majority Whip Talmadge Branch, are proposing less police intensive alternatives, including a bill that would expand the Safe Streets program across the city by establishing a permanent $3.6 million funding stream.

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Safe Streets

Osler Medical Symposium Kicks Off Lineup with Public Health Panel (Johns Hopkins News-Letter)

The Osler Medical Symposium (OMS) kicked off its first event, “Baltimore in the 21st Century: A Commissioner’s Perspective,” on Friday, March 2 in Gilman Hall. The panel featured Dr. Peter Beilenson and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, both of whom served as former Baltimore health commissioners, as well as Dr. Michelle Gourdine, the former deputy secretary for public health in Maryland. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Leana Wen, the current health commissioner for Baltimore.

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Leana Wen

Baltimore to sue feds over cuts to teen pregnancy program (Baltimore Business Journal)

Baltimore City is filing suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over funding cuts to the city's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. "The termination of our grant is shocking and unprecedented. It creates a huge gap in our ability to provide services to our residents," Dr. Leana Wen said in a statement. 

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Baltimore Health Department to track data on drug treatment availability (Baltimore Sun)

The Baltimore Health Department is working to design a system to monitor how many drug treatment slots are available in the city at any moment, a plan that officials say should make it easier to get help for addiction patients.

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Leana Wen

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