"Dial 311 to report businesses for selling cigs to kids" (WMAR) June 26, 2015

Keeping cigarettes out of kids' hands... that’s the Baltimore City Health Department's goal, but they need your help. Residents can now report businesses who sell cigarettes to minors. Just dial 311. Health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen says it's important to educate parents and step up enforcement. If caught - businesses could face a $500 fine.

14 Brands of Niagara Bottled Water Recalled For Possible E. Coli Contamination

Niagara Bottling is issuing a voluntary recall of 14 brands of bottled water products due to concerns of possible E. coli contamination from the spring source.  Today’s heat index is expected to reach 105 degrees, so residents drinking bottled water should be cautious of the brands involved in the recall. “E. coli can be a very serious infection.  Given the Code Red weather today, out of an abundance of caution, we want to alert residents drinking bottled water of the voluntary recall,” said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen.

Baltimore City Health Commissioner Declares Code Red Heat Advisory For Tuesday; First Of The Season

With the heat index expected to be at 105 degrees tomorrow, Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen has issued a Code Red Heat Advisory for Tuesday, June 23.  The heat index is a measure of air temperature and relative humidity and indicates how hot it feels to individuals outside.  This is the first Code Red of the season.

"Malachi's World" (New York Times) June 18, 2015

Meet Malachi, a charming toddler I met here. The first puzzle was that Malachi, at the age of 2 years and 4 months, still doesn’t speak. He says only two words: “no” and “ouch.” He doesn’t say “mom” or “dad.  As for his inability to speak, that may be because he has tested positive for lead poisoning.

"Baltimore's Safe Streets neighborhoods see no shootings post riots" (WMAR) June 12, 2015

While crime surges in post-riot Baltimore, the Safe Streets program has been doing just that in the four areas it operated. They mediate, mentor, teach and break through to a generation that in many ways, only they are qualified to reach. The program aims to treat violence as a disease, and these men are the antibodies.

Baltimore City Health Commissioner Encourages Citizens To Take Precautions As Season’s First Hot Weather Arrives

With forecasted temperatures in the mid-90s, a heat index expected to reach 100 degrees and unhealthy air quality, Baltimore health officials are encouraging residents to take precautions as the first hot weather of the season arrives today. “Individuals should stay indoors in air-conditioning as much as possible and be sure to stay hydrated with water today,” said Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Commissioner.

"Fellows help Baltimore City Health Department with residents' needs" (WBAL-TV) June 10, 2015

Many Baltimore neighborhoods are trying to put their communities back together after the recent civil unrest and the city Health Department is doing its part too. The Health Department is sending post-graduate fellows into areas to find out from residents how they can help move forward.

"Health Department brings on Baltimore Corps fellows to help in unrest response" (Baltimore Sun) June 10, 2015

As Sarah Ceponis watched the unrest in Baltimore explode in April, her mind went to the underlying public health disparities inherent in neighborhoods such as Sandtown-Winchester. Ceponis, studying for a master's degree in public health at Johns Hopkins, was taking a course on health and well-being in the urban core. She saw the unrest as a "window of opportunity" in which people were actually paying attention to public health issues — such as neighborhood access to pharmacies — that are often ignored.

"We can cure violence" (Baltimore Sun) June 7, 2015

Violence prevention is a key function of public health. In many ways, violence is no different from an infectious disease. Just like measles or the flu, it is contagious and spreads from person to person. It creates fear and wreaks havoc. It results in illness, trauma and death.

"My First Time in a Strip Club" (New York Times) June 5, 2015

The first time most guys go into a strip club, it’s party time. Alcohol pours. Dancers sell dreams. Groomsmen pick up the tab as lap dances go to the bachelor. A 21st birthday party ends with a crowded drunk selfie followed by some “tag me in that” pleas. My first time in a strip club was a little different. I wasn’t there for a drink or lap dance. I wasn’t with my boys. I was with Nathan Fields, a community health educator for the Baltimore Public Health Department, as he made his weekly rounds at strip clubs on East Baltimore Street, or “The Block,” as it’s known.

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