News Coverage

Synthetic Weed Is Back, Bigger Than Ever, and Scary as Hell (Daily Beast)

The young woman had pale skin and fire-red hair, and by all appearances was only minutes away from dying from opioid overdose. 

The grim scene unfolded in February, in the Kensington section of North Philadelphia. It’s where the death rate from heroin mixed with illicit fentanyl ranks among the highest in the nation, and the sight of young bodies lying prone and unresponsive on the sidewalk has become the new normal for a cluster of impoverished neighborhoods that have already suffered decades of collateral damage from the war on drugs.

Read the entire story.

Treating Racism as a Public Health Issue (Poverty and Race Research Action Council Newsletter)

In their article, Dr. Wen and Special Assistant to the Commmissioner Narintohn Luangrath discuss health and racial equity and what the Health Department is doing to address health disparities. 

Read the entire story.

Leana Wen

6 Ways People Who Inject Drugs Can Avoid HIV and Hepatitis C Infections (US News & World Report)

IN COLUMBUS, OHIO, A teenage boy who was undergoing treatment for substance use disorder was surprised a couple years ago to learn he'd been infected with hepatitis C. The boy, then 17, was attending private school – and sharing needles with classmates to use heroin, says Dr. Carlos Malvestutto, infectious diseases fellowship program director at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

Read the entire story.

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Man hopes to save lives with St. Louis syringe exchanges that cut risk of disease outbreak (St. Louis Dispatch)

Aaron Laxton’s trunk is full of supplies for drug users. Laxton goes out nearly every day handing out free syringes to heroin addicts in St. Louis. Laxton is on a mission to help them survive until the day they get clean — just like he did.

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opioids

Baltimore City Health Commissioner Lena Wen at Health Datapalooza

What do you do when there’s no data to suggest potential solutions? Lena Wen, Baltimore City Commissioner of Health, says, “we throw the boat at it to save lives in our community.” Through a process of iteration, Wen and her team are learning how to more efficiently solve for social determinants of health...starting with a successful public/private collaboration to reduce Baltimore's infant mortality rates.

Watch the interview here.

Leana Wen

Live from Women of the World Festival

In this podcast recorded live from the Women of the World Festival, hear from panelists including Dr. Wen.

Listen here.

Leana Wen

Dr. Leana Wen Discusses Baltimore’s Opioid Epidemic

Dr. Wen joined WJZ to discuss the opioid epidemic and how the Health Department is working to combat it in Baltimore City. 

Watch the video.

Leana Wenopioids

Conference focuses on reducing health disparities (Philadelphia Tribune)

The impact of social determinants on health care was highlighted during the 11th Annual National Conference on Health Disparities.

Leana Wen

Trump's New Abortion Rule Politicizes a Historically Bipartisan Program (Governing)

Despite decades of being a relatively nonpartisan program, Title X -- the only federal grant program exclusively for family planning and reproductive health -- is gearing up to be front and center of a debate about abortion.

On Friday, the Trump administration will reportedly propose a rule that prohibits Title X funding from going to organizations that perform or support the procedure.

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Leana Wen

Code Red Season Begins In Baltimore (Patch)

Code Red Extreme Heat is a multi-agency effort to address the impact of extreme heat on residents of Baltimore City. Throughout the summer, City agencies provide public education to residents about the effects of sustained heat on health and perform community outreach regarding energy assistance programs for senior residents and other susceptible groups through Community Action Partnership Centers.

"Heat is the leading weather-related killer in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities and many thousands of illnesses nationwide each year," said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. "Heat is a silent killer, and is particularly dangerous to those who are young and elderly, and with chronic medical conditions. Residents must take all precautions to ensure their own safety as well as the safety of family and neighbors."

Read the entire story.

Leana Wen

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