Recent News

Baltimore City Health Commissioner Says Graham-Cassidy Health Care Proposal Is Detrimental to Nation’s Health

BALTIMORE, MD (September 21, 2017) – Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen today issued the following statement in response to the intended vote on legislation by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy that would turn federal health insurance funding into block grants.

Baltimore must lead the way on environmental advocacy (Baltimore Sun)

An op-ed from Cameron Clarke, who served as a Health Equity Fellow with the Baltimore City Health Department.

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Declare a true state of emergency (The Hill)

Several weeks ago, President Trump stated that the opioid crisis was a “national emergency.” To many of us in public health, it was a confusing statement. Just a few days earlier, the president and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price stated that they would not declare a state of emergency, claiming that emergencies are time-bound and resource-finite situations.

As an emergency physician and Commissioner of Health in Baltimore City — where approximately two people a day die from overdose — I can tell you that is not the case. Addiction is a disease, treatment exists and communities around the country are succeeding in fighting the epidemic.

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Study: Free glasses improved Baltimore students' test scores (AOL)

A program launched in a number of Baltimore schools last year has helped students get better grades and higher test scores. A collaboration among a number of groups, including the Baltimore City Health Department and Johns Hopkins University, the Vision for Baltimore initiative was launched in large part to help those whose families may not be able to afford such services.

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BCHD Trains Residents to Save Lives on International Overdose Awareness Day

Baltimore, MD (August 31, 2017) – Today, Baltimore City Health Officials and partners highlighted Baltimore’s ongoing response to the overdose epidemic in observance of International Overdose Awareness Day, a global annual event to raise awareness of overdose and reduce stigma associated with the disease of addiction.

As opioid crisis spreads, treatments remain underutilized (Daily Record)

The opioid epidemic raging across the country recognizes few boundaries. Its victims are young and old, the highly educated and high school dropouts, rich and poor, women and men.

Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said that one of the many obstacles to overcome in treating opioid misuse is the pernicious stigma that attaches to drug addiction. 

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BCHD Interns Discuss Zika Virus with University of Maryland Baltimore Police Officers

Taylor Owens and Vernon Stepney, two BCHD interns who are rising juniors at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, conducted a Zika presentation to the University of Maryland Baltimore Police Depar

BCHD interns Vernon and Taylor present about the Zika virus

Public Health Heroes: BCHD Animal Control Officers Often Save Humans, Too

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Animal Enforcement Officer Supervisor Hodge made his way to the courthouse to get a warrant signed regarding an investigation of a home where animal abuse was suspected of taking place. Officer Hodge and other Animal Control staff met with Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers to go to the house to execute the warrant. After entering the house, the Animal Control Officers did not find any of the dogs. Instead, the officers found the floors covered in dog feces and trash and a rancid smell in the air. What appeared to be a vacant home actually housed a family with two small infants.

UMB Police Train To Combat Opioid Overdose (UMB News)

“Like a lot of the country, Baltimore City and the state of Maryland are experiencing unprecedented, epidemic opioid addiction,” Mark O’Brien, JD, director of opioid overdose prevention and treatment with the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD), said at an Aug. 24 meeting with University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) police.

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Note from the Commissioner: Signing Off for a few Weeks

For the next several weeks, I am signing off from my weekly newsletter note in order to spend time with my family and my newborn son, Elias “Eli” Wen Walker. I am extremely excited to be a mother and am proud of the work we do at BCHD to help childrenexpecting mothers, families and communities in our great city.

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