News Coverage

"Baltimore sees `significant' drop in teen birth rate" (WMAR ABC-2) February 24, 2015

Feb 25th, 2015

Baltimore officials say there's been a significant reduction in the city's birth rate among teens. Baltimore's teen birth rate is more than double the state average, but for the first time in several years, the city saw a significant drop. Rawlings-Blake and Leana Wen, the city's health commissioner, discussed the drop at a news conference Tuesday morning.  Between 2009 and 2013, the birth rate for teenagers between age 15 and 19 in Baltimore City dropped by 32 percent, which surpasses the 20 percent goal outlined in Healthy Baltimore 2015.  

"Teen pregnancies in Baltimore drop by a third"

Feb 24th, 2015

Baltimore's teen pregnancy rate dropped by nearly a third from 2009 to 2013, far surpassing the city's goal for reducing the rate, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake plans to announce today. "One of our top priorities in public health in the city is teen pregnancy," said Leana Wen, Baltimore City health commissioner. "I think it is a testament to what can happen in our city when all of us work together on this common goal."

"Getting Baltimore To Quit Smoking" (WMAR-ABC2) February 23, 2015

Feb 24th, 2015

A new study led by American Cancer Society researchers and published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that smoking may be linked to more diseases, and more deaths, than previously estimated. Dr. Leana Wen says there is still a long way to go with education and public policies to get those numbers down. She said the challenge with getting people to stop smoking is not only about addiction. 

“Public health aims to protect the individual and community” (WRVO - NPR "Take Care"), February 22, 2015

Feb 23rd, 2015

"Public health" is a phrase that can be heard seemingly nonstop whenever there is a health scare or disease outbreak. The current measles outbreak is an example of this -- a public health issue that makes headlines for days, weeks or months at a time. This week on “Take Care,” Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen discusses that public health is actually an everyday affair -- one that needs to receive more attention -- to better prevent and resolve such outbreaks. 

"Meet Baltimore's New 'Top Doc'" (WMAR - ABC2), February 19, 2015

Feb 19th, 2015

Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen hit the ground running in her new position. WMAR reporter Kelly Swoope sat down for a one on one interview with Dr. Wen.

"Baltimore City announces Code Blue Emergency through Monday" (WMAR-ABC2 - February 13, 2015)

Feb 15th, 2015

A Code Blue was declared for Baltimore City and is effect through Monday. So far this winter, six people have died from the cold weather sweeping the state.  The biggest concern in the dangerous temperatures is hypothermia, so the health department says if you need to be outside at all, make sure you cover up.

"Cold Weather Is Here, Code Blue In Effect" (WJZ-TV - February 13, 2015)

Feb 13th, 2015

Bundle up, Baltimore! Cold temperatures have arrived, but it could get worse. Baltimore City officials have also declared a Code Blue through Monday, Feb. 16 due to low temperatures in the teens and wind chills below zero. “Our advice on keeping warm in cold weather may seem like common sense, but with six hypothermia-related deaths this season, it is vitally important to remember that cold can kill,”said Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Commissioner. “All Baltimoreans need to look out for friends and family members and ensure they have warm shelter. Remember that carbon monoxide is a silent killer – do not use unapproved sources of heating."

Vaccines are Safe, Effective and Life-Saving (Baltimore Sun Op-Ed)

Feb 13th, 2015

"In the 1930s, outbreaks swept through every corner of Baltimore. Tens of thousands of children grew sick with fever and a tale-tell rash..."

"Maryland looks to neighboring states for help with heroin trafficking" (Baltimore Business Journal - February 12, 2015)

Feb 13th, 2015

Baltimore is becoming a destination for drug traffickers looking to take advantage of rising demand among heroin users. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh on Wednesday announced that Maryland will join a six-state coalition to target a heroin supply line along the East Coast that is driving heroin deaths in Baltimore and throughout the state. Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake have made reducing heroin deaths a priority. The city is looking into training police officers and first responders to carry naloxone, an overdose-reversing drug, and wants to find ways to expand rehabilitation services for users.

 

"Measles outbreak spreads to three more states and Washington DC; 121 people now affected" (Washington Post - February 10, 2015)

Feb 10th, 2015

The measles outbreak spread to three more states and Washington D.C. last week, affecting 19 additional people, according to an update posted Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The highly contagious disease is now in 18 jurisdictions, with 121 people affected. The vast majority of the cases are part of the large outbreak that began in Southern California Disney theme parks in late December, the health agency said. Public health authorities have begun campaigning about the importance of vaccinating children against measles. President Obama, Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy and Baltimore Public Health Commissioner Leana S. Wen, as well as the CDC and other public health organizations have called on parents to vaccinate children.

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