Baltimore City Health Department

BALTIMORE, MD (June 7, 2016)– Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen joined community advocates today to call on the Baltimore City Council to pass legislation to require warning labels for sugar-sweetened beverages on advertisements, restaurant menus, and in any point of sale in the city where these products are sold during a hearing of the Council’s Health Committee. Sugar-sweetened beverages contain added caloric sweetener, such as soda, energy drinks, sports drinks, most juices, sweetened coffee drinks, sweetened teas, etc.

Just a few months after Dr. Leana Wen took over as Baltimore’s health commissioner, the Freddie Gray riots drew renewed national attention to the city’s struggling neighborhoods and public health challenges including opioid addiction, gun violence and disparities in life expectancy across different zip codes.

BALTIMORE, MD (May 17, 2016)– The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) today released a new inspection web portal that provides the public with easy access to recent food service facility inspection data online. This new public portal, available at http://baltimore.foodinspectionreports.com/, provides greater transparency into the inspection process and allows constituents to make better informed dining choices.

BALTIMORE, MD (May 10, 2016)– The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD), the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), non-profit provider Vision To Learn (VTL), and Warby Parker today launched “Vision for Baltimore,” an innovative citywide strategy to ensure that students across Baltimore City elementary and middle schools have universal access to glasses.

BALTIMORE, MD (April 26, 2016) – Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen today joined City leaders to announce Baltimore City’s Zika Preparedness Plan to educate the public about the Zika virus and coordinate a citywide response to help prevent the spread of the virus. Baltimore’s Citywide Zika Plan will be the first in Maryland, and aims to serve as a model for other cities.

BALTIMORE, MD (April 15, 2016) – Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen today joined Congressional leaders and experts for a briefing hosted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), to educate members and staff about efforts being implemented in Baltimore to combat the opioid abuse epidemic and urging Congress to introduce policies that will expand access to naloxone, a medication that completely reverses the effect of an opioid overdose.

BALTIMORE, MD (April 5, 2016) – Baltimore City Health Department officials today welcomed U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, to Baltimore as he kicked off a public engagement tour to facilitate a nationwide discussion on the prescription drug crisis in America.

ATLANTA, GA (March 29, 2016)– Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen joined President Barack Obama Tuesday for a panel discussion before thousands of thought leaders at the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit to discuss the innovative efforts being implemented in Baltimore to address the opioid abuse epidemic. The panel, moderated by CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, also featured two individuals in long-term recovery: Justin Luke Riley and Crystal Oertle.

BALTIMORE, MD (March 22, 2016) – Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen testified Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee educating members about the innovative efforts being implemented in Baltimore address the opioid abuse epidemic and urging Congress to introduce policies that will improve community-based efforts to end this public health emergency.

BALTIMORE, MD (March 17, 2016)– Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, and executive director of Catholic Charities, Bill McCarthy today joined with members of the community to mark the official opening of the newest Safe Streets Baltimore location that is bringing the program credited with reducing gun violence to the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood.