Baltimore City Health Department

BALTIMORE, MD (October 5, 2016) – Baltimore City health officials announced Wednesday that in 2015, Baltimore City experienced the lowest infant mortality rate on record: 8.4 per 1,000 live births—a 19 percent decline from 2014. The previous low of 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births was recorded in 2012.

Field Health Services's transportation vendor is experiencing technical difficulties. As such, there may be a delay for clients when requesting ride updates and estimated times of arrivals.

BALTIMORE, MD (September 29, 2016) – Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen issued the following statement in response to Congress’ decision to provide funding to combat the Zika virus as a part of a short-term spending bill passed last night.

BALTIMORE, Md. (September 28, 2016) – Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen was announced as a recipient of the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize for Creative Local Public Health Work, an annual award bestowed upon a local health officer in recognition of outstanding creative and innovative public health work. 

Baltimore, MD (September 21, 2016) —Today, Baltimore City was selected as one of 50 members of the HealthyCommunity50 in the Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge. By participating in the Challenge, Baltimore City will receive a $10,000 community seed award and is in the running to receive a prize that will further development of local programming.

BALTIMORE, MD (September 15, 2016)– The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) today announced that the agency has been awarded a five-year, $5 million grant by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services for the Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) program. The goal of ReCAST is to empower local community collaboration to assist high-risk youth and families in communities that have recently faced civil unrest through evidence-based violence prevention, community youth engagement, and trauma-informed behavioral health services.

BALTIMORE, MD (September 10, 2016) – In keeping with Baltimore City’s response plan, the Baltimore City Health Department and Maryland Department of Agriculture will expand mosquito control services in Baltimore City Sunday, due to a public health concern over the potential for mosquito-borne diseases, including West Nile virus and Zika virus. There are currently 11 travel-associated Zika cases in Baltimore City.

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.

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, Md. (August 31, 2016) – Today, Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen joined U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman John Sarbanes, and partners across the city to highlight Baltimore’s ongoing response to the overdose crisis in observance of International Overdose Awareness Day, a global annual event to raise awareness of overdose and reduce stigma associated with the disease of addiction.