Recent News

Brett Talks to Dr. Leana Wen About Drug Overdosing Problems in Baltimore City (WBAL)

The Opioid Crisis continues to persist as drug overdose numbers continue to rise, particularly in Baltimore City.  Brett talks  to Dr. Leana Wen, an expert on public health, for more on these numbers, and how to potentially curtail them in the future.

Listen to the full segment

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Maryland Hit With Record Number Of Fentanyl Deaths (The Fix)

"It's terrifying that we're at a point where the numbers escalate every year. We don't even know where the peak is," said Baltimore's health commissioner.

Maryland hit a sobering new milestone last year: The state saw more fentanyl deaths than ever before. And this year, it turns out, is already on track to set another disquieting record. 

Read the entire story.

Leana Wenopioids

Congressional officials, Baltimore leaders talk opioids at Health Care for the Homeless (Health Care for the Homeless)

That stat surfaced during a roundtable discussion and C-SPAN live broadcast with congressional officials, Baltimore leaders and community members at our downtown clinic on Friday, July 27. 

We were honored to welcome Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman John Sarbanes, Mayor Catherine Pugh, Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen and many others to tour our facility and discuss the state of our nation’s opioid epidemic. 

Read the entire story.

Leana Wenopioids

Baltimore health officials, lawmakers say abortion politics threatens $1.4 million in funding for health clinics (Baltimore Sun)

Baltimore health clinics fear a proposed federal gag rule that would prohibit money from going to centers that perform or refer patients for abortions would undercut their ability to care for the city’s most vulnerable residents.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has proposed a rule that would withhold funding from the Title X Family Planning Program. The federal agency is taking public comments on the issue, which is being criticized by local lawmakers and health officials, until Tuesday.

Read the entire story.

Leana Wen

US City Bans Sugary Drinks on Children’s Menus (Learning English)

Recently, Baltimore, Maryland, became the largest city in the United States to ban restaurants from including sodas and other sugary drinks on their menus for children.

Now, Baltimore’s restaurants can only offer milk, water or 100 percent fruit juice as drinks with meals meant for children.

Read the entire story.

Leana Wen

Melanie Repert: Help stop proposed gag rule affecting health care for women (Arizona Daily Star)

The first time I visited the Baltimore City Health Department’s Druid Clinic, I was 17. I wasn’t going to the clinic for myself. A friend had told me she thought she was pregnant but was too nervous to go to the clinic to take a test alone, so I offered to go with her. When we arrived she was still nervous, so I offered to take a test as well.

Read the entire op-ed.

More than 2,000 Marylanders Died from Opioid-Related Overdoses in 2017 (Baltimore Magazine)

More than 2,200 Maryland residents died in 2017 from unintended drug and alcohol-related intoxication, setting an all-time mark for the state in the seventh consecutive year.

“We are seeing an epidemic of overdoses in Maryland and around the country and these numbers are terrifying,” said Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen in response to the report. “We are not even at the peak of the epidemic and we don’t know what the peak looks like.”

Read the entire story.

Leana Wenopioids

Note From The Commissioner: Decisions about Medical Care Should be Based on Science, Not Ideology

On Monday, at our Druid Health Clinic, doctors and nurses stood with Mayor Catherine Pugh and our entire Baltimore City federal delegation – Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Representatives Elijah Cummings, Dutch Ruppersberger, and John Sarbanes – to voice our strong opposition to the Trump Administration’s proposed changes to Title X family planning services. These changes will hurt four million people, many of whom already bear the brunt of health disparities and inequities, including women of color and low-income individuals.

Leana Wen

Baltimore Mayor Urged To Remove Milk From Children's Menus At Restaurants (Plant Based News)

Campaigners are urging Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh to ban cow's milk from children's menus at restaurants.

Read the entire story.

Leana Wn

Maryland hits record-high drug deaths, fueled by fentanyl (AP)

Maryland, a state that already had one of the country's most punishing overdose mortality rates, notched a record-high number of drug deaths last year. The grim milestone was fueled by an alarming increase of fentanyl-related fatalities.

Despite renewed efforts to beat back the opioid epidemic, newly released figures from Maryland's health department show there were 2,282 intoxication deaths in 2017. Nearly 90 percent of those deaths were opioid-related, particularly the powerful, cheap synthetic forms that have been sweeping across America amid the nation's worst-ever drug crisis.

Read the entire story.

 

 

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