News Coverage

Redefining public health (Baltimore Sun)

Sep 2nd, 2016

It's well known that the most important health indicators of communities are often closely related to their demographics. People living in wealthy communities generally tend to live longer, be more active and have fewer serious chronic diseases than people living in poor communities. 

Baltimore health Commissioner: New FDA labeling requirement can save lives (The Hill)

Sep 2nd, 2016

By Leana S. Wen

If my patient were in a car accident and experiencing neck pain, I might have prescribed an opioid — such as Percocet or Vicodin — for the pain, and a benzodiazepine — such as Xanax or Valium — to help treat muscle spasms. I might have prescribed to someone who is on benzodiazepines for their anxiety disorder an opioid for pain relief; and vice versa.

Should the cost of naloxone be determined by its public health impact? (Modern Healthcare)

Sep 1st, 2016

The rising cost of naloxone—a 40-year-old drug capable of reversing drug overdoses—is prompting questions about the wisdom of allowing market-forces to determine the price of a vital tool in the public health response to the nation'sopioid crisis.

As Naloxone’s Price Spikes, Baltimore Forges Ahead Against Opioids (U.S News)

Sep 1st, 2016

BALTIMORE — Volunteers and city health workers have set up a table here at the corner of East Baltimore and North Gay streets – near City Hall in an area filled with peep shows and strip clubs, known to residents as simply "The Block."

Nathan Fields, a community health educator for the city, has been coming to this area regularly for eight years, working with others from the health department to provide needle exchange, HIV testing and reproductive counseling. Today his team is providing passersby with naloxone, a lifesaving drug given to people overdosing on opioids like Oxycontin, Percocet or heroin.

Baltimore task force aims to warn drug users away from fentanyl on the streets (Baltimore Sun)

Sep 1st, 2016

When drug users buy heroin on the streets of Baltimore, they don't know whether it also contains fentanyl, a synthetic painkiller so powerful that small amounts can kill.

Now the city plans to tell them when and where the heroin is likely to be adulterated.

Mixing opioids and popular sedatives may be deadly (CBS News)

Sep 1st, 2016

Mixing prescription opioid painkillers with a class of drugs that includes popular sedatives such as Valium and Xanax can cause a fatal overdose, U.S. health officials warned Wednesday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will require “boxed warnings” on 389 different products to inform health professionals and the public of this potentially lethal drug interaction, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said during a media briefing.

FDA orders stronger warnings about risk of using opioid painkillers with certain anti-anxiety drugs (LA Times)

Sep 1st, 2016

The  Food and Drug Administration is issuing strong new warnings that the combined use of opioid medications and benzodiazepines, a class of anti-anxiety medications better known by such commercial names as Xanax and Ativan, can dangerously suppress breathing and cause coma or death.

The drug safety agency is recommending that physicians take extra care in prescribing medication regimens that mix the two classes of drugs. And it is alerting people who use — or abuse — such drugs to the “serious risks” of taking them together.

 

Mixing Opioids and Tranquilizers Can Be Deadly, FDA Warns (NBC News)

Sep 1st, 2016

More and more people have died from mixing strong painkillers with tranquilizers like Xanax, leading federal health officials to strengthen warnings against doing so.

People who mix opioids with the sedatives can suffer from breathing problems, which can lead to comas and even prove fatal, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

Baltimore Explores a Bold Solution to Fight Heroin Addiction (Nationswell)

Sep 1st, 2016

Health commissioner Dr. Leana S. Wen gives every single city resident access to medication that stops an overdose in its tracks.

A Blueprint for a Healthier Baltimore (Afro)

Sep 1st, 2016

By: Dr. Leana Wen

In thousands of conversations with community members, businesses, grassroots organizations, and elected leaders across Baltimore, I have seen how our City continues to wrestle with deeply-rooted issues of poverty, racial inequality, and structural racism.

​Here in Baltimore, there are neighborhoods just blocks apart where the life expectancy differs by 20 years. We have made significant strides in reducing infant mortality, and yet Black babies continue to die at twice the rate of White babies. Homicide continues to be the leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds in the city – more than 90 percent of homicide victims in 2016 have been Black.

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