Health officials warned a network of medical providers throughout Baltimore this week of a possible increase in drug overdoses and withdrawals among local patients after a pain management clinic in North Baltimore was raided and closed by federal and local law enforcement, officials confirmed Wednesday.

The Baltimore City Health Department heard Tuesday from local law enforcement officials that they had closed a health care provider's office, and health officials immediately began notifying hospital emergency rooms, emergency service providers, treatment centers and others.

"We are on high alert for instances that can lead to an increase in overdoses in the city," said Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City's health commissioner. "We monitor for all potential spikes."

Todd Edwards, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman, confirmed that his agency partnered with Baltimore police — as well as Anne Arundel County police and the office of Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh — to raid the Westside Medical Group offices of Dr. Kofi Shaw-Taylor in the 4400 block of Falls Road about 9 a.m. Tuesday.

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This weekend is Mayor Catherine E. Pugh’s Spring Clean Up, which is a perfect reminder to take important steps to ensure that your home and community are healthy and safe. Zika season is right around the corner. Mosquitos can transmit Zika, West Nile, and other diseases, and the best way to prevent them is to stop them from breeding in the first place by removing any standing water from your property. Do a survey of your yard and make sure there are no empty flower pots, trash lids, or other containers that can harbor standing water. If you need assistance to eliminate standing water in your neighborhood, call 311 to report it.

Spring cleaning is also a good time to clean out your medicine cabinet. This Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, and today, I joined Baltimore City Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Don Hibbert, and other leaders across the city to encourage residents to safely dispose of unused medications at one of the 10 permanent take-back boxes located at police stations across the city. Residents can drop off unused and unwanted medications year-round, no questions asked.

Two years ago, Michelle Haynes, a phone operator with the Baltimore City Health Department’s Field Health Services Non-Emergency Medicaid Transportation (NEMT) program, was on the phone with a woman trying to arrange her normal non-emergency medical transport to a doctor’s appointment. At the time, Baltimore City was in the midst of unrest following Freddie Gray’s death. A number of pharmacies were closed and many residents were unable to access their necessary prescriptions.

Through labored breaths, the woman on the phone tried to tell Ms. Haynes that she had a shortage of her blood clot medication and could not ta

A federal judge in Baltimore ordered the Trump administration to resume funding two entities receiving grants through the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) on Wednesday afternoon, days after two similar rulings were issued in federal courts in Washington state and Washington, DC.

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