Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana S. Wen told business leaders Tuesday that they can play a role in fighting the opioid epidemic and offered examples of how they can help.

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CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in partnership with Mayor Catherine Pugh's office announced new efforts to combat the opioid crisis in the Baltimore area. The efforts include $1.5 million in funding for non-profit community organizations for programs aimed at addressing substance use disorders, as well as new prescribing limits and treatment programs to limit opioid abuse and improve care for members battling addiction."The Baltimore City Health Department has developed a comprehensive, three-pillar strategy to combat opioid addiction: prevent deaths from overdose and save lives, increase access to on-demand treatment and long-term recovery support, and provide education to reduce stigma and prevent addiction.”

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Vice News covers Bad Batch Alerts.

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These are the three guideposts to improving public health outcomes in the city, Baltimore City Health Commissioner Leana S. Wen, MD, MSc, FAAEM, told an auditorium of social workers Nov. 14 at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (SSW) Daniel Thursz Social Justice Lecture.

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The declaration of an opioid emergency by President Trump has put the focus on the need for treatment. And now some communities are asking who will pay. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports on the rising costs of treating the epidemic.

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Leana S. Wen, MD, MSc, FAAEM, was en route to speak at an endowed lecture at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) Oct.

Baltimore’s short on a lifesaving drug. Declaring the opioid crisis a national emergency can help.

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This week, President Trump announced that he plans to formally declare a statement of emergency on the opioid epidemic. It’s about time. Experts, including the President’s own Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, have repeatedly called for the President to put the full weight of the federal government to stem the tide of this disease that is claiming hundreds of lives per day.

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The opioid epidemic raging across the country recognizes few boundaries. Its victims are young and old, the highly educated and high school dropouts, rich and poor, women and men.

Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said that one of the many obstacles to overcome in treating opioid misuse is the pernicious stigma that attaches to drug addiction. 

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“Like a lot of the country, Baltimore City and the state of Maryland are experiencing unprecedented, epidemic opioid addiction,” Mark O’Brien, JD, director of opioid overdose prevention and treatment with the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD), said at an Aug. 24 meeting with University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) police.

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