As summer approaches it’s important to be aware of extreme heat that can overwhelm some of Baltimore’s more sensitive residents.

The Baltimore City Health Department announced Tuesday that Code Red season is underway for the summer and warned of dangers that come with being exposed to too much heat. Extreme heat can lead to illnesses like cardiovascular disease, stroke, and respiratory disease.

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The Baltimore City Health Department Tuesday announced the start of Baltimore City’s Code Red Extreme Heat season. Code Red Extreme Heat is a multi-agency effort to address the impact of extreme heat on residents of Baltimore City. 

Throughout the summer, City agencies provide public education to residents about the effects of sustained heat on health and perform community outreach regarding energy assistance programs for senior residents and other susceptible groups through Community Action Partnership Centers.

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Public health advocates and officials are at odds over programs that allow drug users to bring in their illicit drugs to test them for a deadly synthetic opioid.

In this edition of Dr. Wen's regular Healthwatch segment on WYPR's Midday with Tom Hall, she gives tips for heart health, provides and update on the City's teen pregnancy prevention lawsuit against the Trump administration, and warns against the danger of synthetic cannabis. 

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Two more federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs that were abruptly eliminated. 

U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ decision was “arbitrary and capricious” when it axed $5 million in funding for the city of Baltimore and the Baltimore nonprofit Healthy Teen Network.

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Baltimore is betting on data mapping to curb the leading cause of fatal injuries among older adults.

The mere act of falling down leads to tens of thousands of deaths among adults 65 and over every year in the U.S., and even more hospitalizations. In Baltimore, where there are many older homes and row houses with steep staircases, falls leading to an emergency room visit occur more frequently than in the rest of Maryland on average, and the city's recently launched fall-reduction strategy aims to utilize hospital data to quickly identify neighborhoods – and even exact locations – where falls are most frequent.

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One hundred of the world’s most promising artists, business leaders, public servants, social entrepreneurs and technologists under the age of 40 have been invited to join the World Economic Forum’s community of Young Global Leaders. The aim is to enable them to shape an inclusive and sustainable future for the world. 

Leana Wen is the emergency physician taking on Baltimore’s health crises as the city’s Commissioner of Health. As the head of one of America’s most experimental health departments, she tackles everything from the city’s crippling drug abuse problem to high infant mortality.

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As quickly as the opioid epidemic claims lives in Baltimore, treatment programs are fighting back. That was the topic of WJZ’s Town Hall Tuesday: Searching for Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic.

“Here in Baltimore City, we focus first and foremost on saving lives. If someone is dying right now, we have to save their life in order for there to be a better tomorrow,” Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said.

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Dr. Leana Wen served on a panel of experts for WJZ's town hall: "Baltimore Standing Together: Opioid Epedemic. 

Healthcare executives and public health officials pushed for easier access to drugs that reduce dependency on painkillers, as well as for a less punitive approach to dealing with those addicted to opioids, in sessions at a conference on April 25-26.

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