News Coverage

Code Red Extreme Heat Alert issued for Baltimore (WBAL)

Jul 3rd, 2018

The Baltimore City Health Department has declared a Code Red Extreme Heat Alert through Tuesday. It is the first Code Red of the 2018 season.

"Hundreds of people die every year from heat-related illness," Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said. "Heat is a silent killer and a threat to the health of everyone in our city, particularly the young, the elderly and those with chronic diseases. In weather like this, it’s important for everyone to protect against hyperthermia and dehydration."

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Leana Wen

Heat advisory continues in Baltimore area, as temperatures surge and cooling centers stay packed (Baltimore Sun)

Jul 2nd, 2018

Chilled water bottles were in high demand Monday morning at the Northern Community Action Partnership Center. 

The building on York Road was doubling as a cooling center for neighbors seeking a reprieve from Monday’s oppressive heat. While most people there were clients waiting to see caseworkers about housing, energy assistance and other needs, others visited strictly to keep cool.

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Leana Wen

Code Red In Baltimore: Heat Closes Lexington Market (Patch)

Jul 2nd, 2018

Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 90s in Baltimore and feel like up to 107 degrees on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

The heat prompted a code red declaration from Baltimore City Health Commissioner Leana Wen through Tuesday, July 3.

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Leana Wen

CODE RED ALERT EXTENDED| List of cooling stations in Baltimore (WBFF)

Jul 1st, 2018

The Baltimore City Health Commissioner has extended a Code Red Alert through Tuesday, July 3.

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1st Code Red Alert Of The Season Declared For Sunday (WJZ)

Jun 29th, 2018

A Code Red Extreme Heat Alert has been issued for Sunday in Baltimore, as the heat index is expected to soar to more than 100 degrees.

Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said the heat index, which indicates how hot it feels to the human body, will be severe enough to pose a “substantial threat to the life or health of vulnerable Baltimore citizens.”

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Leana Wen

A solution to the opioid epidemic from the urban and rural America perspective (The Hill)

Jun 26th, 2018

In their op-ed, Dr. Leana Wen and State Health Officer and Commissioner of West Virginia Dr. Rahul Gupta, discuss the dire need for resources to combat the opioid epidemic in both urban and rural areas.

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Leana Wenopioids

AHIP18: Health leaders tie socioeconomic disparity, personal responsibility to preventable diseases (Fierce Healthcare)

Jun 21st, 2018

As politicians and healthcare experts try to get a handle on healthcare costs and chronic disease, they may be overlooking some major factors. 

Much more can be done to reduce preventable diseases, including incentivizing personal responsibility and addressing socioeconomic disparity, panelists said at the 2018 AHIP Institute & Expo in San Diego. 

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Leana Wen

AHIP18: CEO warns payers of urgency for 'change and innovation' (Healthcare Drive)

Jun 21st, 2018

The annual meeting of America’s Health Insurance Plans kicked off with a warning.

AHIP CEO Matt Eyles said that consolidation and rising healthcare costs are reaching a breaking point.

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Leana Wen

How to Fix the Health Gap Between Black and White America (The Atlantic)

Jun 20th, 2018

Residents of Baltimore’s rich, white suburbs can expect to live a full 20 years longer than those who live in the city’s poor, majority-black neighborhoods, Olga Khazan writes in the magazine.

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Leana Wen

How the Government Can Lower Drug Prices (The New York Times)

Jun 20th, 2018

In Baltimore, the health commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen, uses a need-based algorithm to decide which emergency rooms, needle-exchange vans, E.M.T.s and opioid outreach workers receive the city’s limited supply of naloxone — and which don’t. The drug, which reverses overdoses, has saved some 14,000 Baltimore residents since 2015. But its price has increased in recent years, by between 95 and 500 percent, depending on which version of the medication is being considered. Even with donations and discounts from drug makers, Dr. Wen says the city can’t afford all the naloxone it needs.

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Leana Wenopioidsnaloxone

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